Seth took out the French press and set the kettle on the stove. His hands shook as he reached for the mugs. He hoped Tara didn’t notice. Just to be safe, he stuck them into his pockets once he set the coffee cups down on the counter.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, a slight frown marring her smooth forehead.

“Yeah. Of course,” he responded a bit took quickly. “I think I was more nervous about tonight than I realized. I’m so relieved everything went as planned.”

“It was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing about tonight.” She came to him and hugged him around the waist, resting her cheek on his chest. Could she hear how hard it was beating? “Thank you, Seth.”

He sighed and held her close, hoping the rest of the night went as smoothly. She stepped away from him when the kettle began steaming, and allowed him to finish making their coffee. He carried two piping-hot mugs to the kitchen table and set them down.

Tara sat down and held her mug between her hands, blowing on the coffee. She still wore a dreamy expression. Seth allowed himself to feel a moment of pride for putting that look on her face. But the pride was soon overshadowed by good old-fashioned fear. Could he really do this? Confess his feelings to her? Convince her to be his?

It wasn’t the lingering shadow of his past relationship that made him afraid. He realized he was finally over that. It happened a long time ago, when he was just a kid. The love he felt for Tara couldn’t compare to what he thought was love back then. Perhaps that was what paralyzed him with fear. Even the thought of losing Tara overshadowed his heartbreak from college. But if he didn’t do this, he wouldn’t have a chance at keeping her.

Seth couldn’t make himself sit down, so he stood across from where she was sitting, gripping the back of a chair. She closed her eyes as she took a sip of the coffee, then smiled warmly at him.

“You make the best coffee. The only problem is, it makes me crave something sweet.”

“Not a problem. We still have some leftover cupcakes, remember?” He jumped at the chance to forestall the moment that would determine his entire future.

He forced himself to relax his grip on the chair and carefully let go. His fingers felt stiff from holding on to it like a lifeline. Walking slowly to the counter, he picked up the box of cupcakes and a plate for Tara to use.

When he set both of them in front of her, she glanced at her plate and frowned. “You aren’t having any? That isn’t like you.”

“I’m still trying to get the butterflies to settle down in my stomach.”

Looking unconvinced, she took a giant bite of her cupcake and got frosting on the corners of her mouth. Seth plucked a napkin from the stand and knelt in front of Tara. He tenderly wiped away the buttercream. And because he couldn’t help himself, he kissed her softly on her lips.