“I want to back up to this whole caring about me thing,” he said, surprising me as he made his way back to the canvas. “I know you care about me, Mallory.”
My heart started beating fast as he shook the can.
“I care about you.” He knelt halfway down. A second passed and he moved his arm, spraying on the canvas. “And I think this was missing something.”
Having no idea what he was doing or where he was going with this, I waited until he rose and stepped back, to the side. My lips parted on a soft gasp. Rider had spray-painted a heart between our names. I saw it with my own eyes:

Rider ღ Mallory

Angling toward me, his grin was sheepish. Boyish. “That was probably really corny, wasn’t it?”
My heart was doing overtime, thumping so fast I thought I might have a heart attack.
“Or it was too much?” He tossed the can in a nearby trash can and slowly approached me. His cheeks were a vibrant pink.”