I turn onto Emma’s street and shift the car to park, touching her shoulder to wake her up.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” I say softly. She blinks, stretching her arms above her head, yawning loudly and wiping a drop of drool away from the corner of her mouth.

Yeah, still cute as hell.

“Wow. Time flies when you’re napping.”

“Slacker,” I joke, handing her a bottle of water. “Hey, before you go inside, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

My fingers drum on the steering wheel, buying myself a few moments of time. I didn’t think this plan through, and it seemed much easier in my head when I was contemplating it 55 miles ago. Now I think it’s going to sound stupid.

Fuck it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me sometime this week.”

“Like a date?”

“Exactly like a date. I know we had a conversation a couple of nights ago, so I was assuming you’d be open to the idea. Now that we’re home, I can understand why you would f—”

“Of course I want to have dinner with you!”

Lacing my hand through hers, I kiss her knuckles, one by one. “I don’t want to pretend none of this happened. I don’t want to walk through the halls at work tomorrow and forget what you look like when you sleep, or the way you act first thing in the morning, groggy and relaxed. Those weren’t one-night stands to me. They meant something to me. You mean something to me.”

She puts her palm on my face, running her thumb over my cheek. I lean into the gesture. “I don’t want to pretend either. My answer is yes. To dinner. To a title. To anything and everything. Yes to you, Henry, my new boyfriend and other half.”

I kiss her, conveying my joy and happiness through affection. I’ve gone too long without touching her, and I had no idea I could miss her even when she was right next to me until her mouth lands back on mine. This is a new starting line. A new beginning as a real, committed, exclusive couple.

Together.

“I’ll check the employee handbook and read up on interdepartmental relationships. The last thing I want is for some dipshit in the office trying to cause issues. You know how those guys are.”

“I would prefer if we kept this between us until the partner announcement is made,” she admits. “I’m not ashamed of you. I just want that door to be closed and boarded up before we figure out what happens next with us professionally.”

“For the record, firing Brad needs to be the first order of business from whoever gets picked. Agreed?”

“Agreed. When do you want to have dinner?”