“That is correct.” He pauses as I give him a pointed look. “So, I’m just now thinking that I probably should have run this by you.”

“Probably,” I say.

“That makes sense. I’ll tell you what, if anything is damaged or stolen, I will apologize profusely and pay half the value.”

“You wish.”

“You drive a hard bargain. Hopefully you’ll mellow out a bit when me and Duke move to New York.”

I freeze, feeling like my chair has suddenly fallen out from under me. Ryan looks as shocked as I do, if not more so. I don’t think he meant to say those words out loud, but they’re out there now. “What was that?” I ask as calmly as possible.

He doesn’t move a muscle. He looks like he’s entirely afraid but is trying not to show it. Seconds tick by until he turns to me, seeming to make a mental decision. “I said, when I move to New York, I hope you adopt a more relaxed lifestyle. A stressful environment is very detrimental to Duke’s personal growth.”

My heartbeat drums faster and faster. It takes real effort to keep my voice level. “Just so we’re clear about what’s going on right now, are you asking to move in with me?”

“I mean, I think that’s the goal, eventually, but I figured I would get my own place with Duke at first.” I stay quiet. He keeps going. “I could sign a year-long lease or maybe I could sublet for a few months. I’d have to find a job here first anyways. That could take a while. I know Duke and I are a lot and obviously this is all happening quickly, but I don’t want us to do long distance again. I feel like we should give this a real shot and if moving to New York is what that means, then that’s what I’ll do, if you want me to.”

He’s rambling. He’s hard-core rambling and I have to smile as I try to wrap my head around the situation.

Ryan swallows, a look of adorable anxiety crossing his face. “Is that smile from thinking about how maybe you could potentially want the same thing, or was it more of an all-right-I-now-need-to-change-my-name-and-number-and-start-a-new-life-in-a-foreign-land kind of smile?”

My entire body fills with so much petrified excitement that I think it might spill out of my ears. “It was the wanting-the-same thing bit.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ryan’s hand slips into mine under the table. His eyes are bright and his ears are red and I suddenly get Maggie’s penchant for bursting into song. “I guess second time’s the charm.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“It is now.” He picks up a champagne flute from off the table and gestures at me to do the same. “Cheers, Sullivan.”