"I can't take an editing suite."
"It's yours for six months. If you don't want it, don't use it."
She turns back to the computer. A whine of a sigh falls off her lips. She can't stand the thought of not using it.
She needs one more push.
"It would be a shame for all this equipment to go to waste," I say.
"True. But… Mal, I know how much this place must cost. I can't—"
"It's done."
She looks up at me. "You, um… you rented me an office for half a year?"
I nod.
"Because…"
"I want to see you blossom."
"But, we're… are you… does this mean…"
"Let me talk for a minute?"
"A whole minute? Are you capable?"
I laugh.
"That's an entire sixty seconds."
"Only if you stop talking."
"That seems unlikely. You're going to have to power through my blabbering. You did buy me an office. That's not exactly chocolate and roses."
"Do you even like chocolate?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Roses?"
"Ditto."
"Should I run out and get some?"
She shakes her head. "No. I… Okay. I think I've only got sixty seconds of silence in me right now."
My lips curl into a smile. "I know." I move to the spot in front of her chair and lower myself onto my knees.
I need to look up at her when I say this. I need to show her that she's the one with my heart in my hands.
That I'm okay being at her mercy.
I stare into her brown eyes. "I love you, Lacey."
Her eyes go wide. She stares back at me, her mouth agape, her entire body turned towards mine. "You love me?"
"Yeah. I did the other day. When I asked you to leave. I knew it as soon as you walked out the door, but I kept trying to convince myself it was something else." I pull my t-shirt down my chest, low enough to show off my fresh ink.