“Don’t be too impressed yet. I’m going to need even more bravery to show up my first day. I’ll be in classes with people a decade younger than me.”

“You’re starting soon?”

I nod. “Next week. Three classes I need still had space.”

“I’m thrilled for you,” he says, kissing me. Then the light in his eyes dims slightly. “But I can’t do this without you. I don’t know anything about other genres, I have no business sense, I—”

“So you’ll learn,” I cut in. “It’ll be challenging, sure, but you can do it. If you don’t have the confidence in yourself yet, you can borrow some of mine.”

As my words hit him, his eyes turn shiny, and he swallows. “Deal,” he says.

“Plus, you won’t have to do it without me—I need a part-time job,” I say. “Hopefully I can convince my manager to work around my class schedule.”

He laughs. “I think we can make that happen.” Then he presses his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. “So…now for the most important discussion. If it isn’t clear already, I love you.”

I startle upright. “Did you just say that? Just like that? Shouldn’t there be more ceremony? I don’t know—I’ve never actually had a guy tell me he loves me before.”

“All this isn’t enough?” he says, looking around the store. He’s smiling, though, amused. Then he takes my chin in his hand, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I’m all in, Josie. One hundred percent. Always and forever. But if you need more time, that’s fine, too. Just know that I’m not going anywhere.”

As I look into his eyes, flickering with the reflection of dozens of candles, I realize that I have a choice. I can keep my armor, keep him at a distance for weeks or months, slowly allowing him a little more of my heart.

Or I can be brave and do what I should have done the first night we spent together, when I learned that the two men I loved were the same person.

“I—I need you to be patient with me,” I say slowly. “I don’t know how to be in a good relationship, I’ve never experienced one—”

“I can recommend a few books to learn from,” he cuts in, grinning.

I smile back, then take a deep breath. “I know you’ve spent years thinking you didn’t measure up, that you weren’t enough, but you are. You’re more than I ever expected, more than I ever dreamed of. You deserve someone who loves you without hesitation, and I—” My voice cracks. “I’m not going anywhere, either. No more holding back, no more hiding. I’m all in, too, one hundred percent. I love you, Ryan.”