He was kind, easygoing, humble. He had integrity and strong faith. He was trustworthy and, if she needed it, he would give her the shirt off his back. He liked kids, same as she did. He lived a life firmly centered in things that mattered. Instead of a destructive presence, Ben promised to be the opposite. He was everything his mother had told her he was, and more.

She was the unremarkable little sister. Unlike her family members, she had not racked up towering achievements. Her ambitions were modest. But this man who really was too good to be true found her valuable and beautiful. She could see that he did, in his eyes. And it made her want to cry.

“For you,” he said, extending the bouquet.

Her dad gave her flowers every Valentine’s Day, but no other man ever had. Reverently, she accepted the bouquet from him. Pale pink primroses. Branches of lightest green. White peonies. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She inhaled gratitude and the fragrance of the flowers. “Are we marking a special occasion?”

“Nah. Just because.”

Once she’d placed the bouquet in a vase, they took seats on the two tall rattan bar stools that fronted the island. She spun toward him until their knees touched. “Finley’s accident has me thinking,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“My bad boyfriends, followed by my slow recovery, made me reluctant to risk dating. But it strikes me now that there’s a different takeaway.”

“Which is?”

“I should grab the good while I can. In dating and in everything else.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Are you still interested in dating me?”

“One hundred percent interested.”

“In that case, I think I need to get over my hang-ups and take hold of this opportunity with both hands.” Courage, Akira. She was done with letting potential heartbreak suppress potential joy. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out beautifully between them.

He edged nearer, setting one foot on the floor. “Sure that you’re willing to take a risk?”

“It is a risk,” she acknowledged. “But you’re worth it.”

“And you won’t change your mind?”

She hadn’t forgotten that he’d been hurt by Leah. This wasn’t easy for him, either. “I won’t change my mind.” She scooted to the front of her barstool. “Are you willing to take a risk on me?”

“Yes. I’d risk a lot for you, Akira.”

She rested tender, unsteady fingertips on his cheek. In doing so, she pushed past the boundary of their safe friendship to something that felt less safe but infinitely promising.

Her heart pounded—

He pressed his lips to hers and she lost herself in the fireworks he set off within her.

She’d made the right choice. She didn’t want to miss this. She’d put her heart back on the line again because she wanted to live. This was scary and heavenly, but most of all, this was living.