I let that sink in, allowing the words to nestle somewhere inside my chest. Even in my longest relationship and most recent relationship, I’d never really heard words like those. Franky was so busy hating himself and what we were doing that he rarely—if ever—let me know how much he enjoyed his time with me. I didn’t realize how good it would feel to hear those kinds of words, especially when they were coming from Jake’s lips. I felt high. Giddy and floaty, like I was being lifted by the bubbles breaking all around me and pushed straight into the galaxies above us.

“We should do this more often, go on little escapes. I like traveling with you,” I said, letting my heart speak before my brain did.

“Let’s do it. Where do you want to go next?”

I considered his question, a dozen different picturesque destinations gliding across my mind. “We’ve got the mountains covered. Want to do a beach next? Maybe Costa Rica?”

Jake’s brows shot up at that. “I’ve always wanted to go. My mom actually used to go a lot when she was a kid. My aunt used to live there but moved to America sometime after I was born, so we never ended up going.”

“Let’s do it, then. We can explore the jungle and maybe take some surf lessons.”

“We’ll book it tomorrow,” Jake said, and just like that, we had another vacation scheduled together. That giddy feeling only grew more intense. I loved this moment. I loved tonight.

I loved—no. Nope. Too soon to go there. Even though the L-word wanted to shoot from my throat and land directly on Jake, I had to swallow it down. It would change everything between us. And what if I said it and Jake didn’t feel it back? We’d only been together for three months; even though it felt like three lifetimes already, he could potentially shut me down.

“How’s your mom?” I asked before I could let my head drift too far up into the clouds.

“She’s okay. My aunt’s actually staying with her this weekend, just in case. This is probably the farthest I’ve been from her in a while. It’s tough, not gonna lie. But at least she isn’t alone.”

I nodded my head, cuddling in closer to Jake. “Do you think she’d want to go to Costa Rica with us?”