“I love you. Do you know that?” he asks, pulling back just enough that I can see his eyes behind his glasses. Heart leaping in my chest, I rear back at the admission he just offered so freely. “I do now.” I gulp past the emotion in my throat, at a complete loss for words. What the hell is the appropriate response to such an out-of-the-blue statement? No one has ever said those words to me. Ever. “Is that okay?” he asks, brushing his nose against mine. “For me to love you?”
