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Something warm unfurls in my chest.

“Yeah?” I say, keeping my voice even.

She nods. “Yeah.”

For a second, we just sit there. And then, because I can’t help myself, I smirk. “You realize we’ve done this all backward, right?”

She lifts a brow. “How so?”

I set my container down, shifting toward her. “We’ve spent the night together. We’ve had fights, a full-blown scandal, and a contract negotiation—” I gesture vaguely. “And we haven’t even been on a damn date.”

She lets out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “That’s… actually a fair point.”

I lean in, my smirk widening. “So, Anastasia Bellows, will you go on a date with me?”

She rolls her eyes, but her lips twitch like she’s fighting a smile. “Are you seriously asking me out while we’re sitting here in sweatpants eating lo mein?”

“Damn right I am.” I grin. “Gotta start somewhere.”

She shakes her head, amused. “And if I say no?”

I shrug. “Then I’ll keep asking.”

Anastasia exhales, studying me. Then, finally—she nods.

“Okay.”

Something shifts in the air between us. Something heavier, something deeper, something we’ve both been skirting around but never fully naming. She sets her food aside, pulls her legs up onto the couch, and curls them beneath her.

“I’m in love with you,” I blurt out, unable to keep the words to myself any longer. The feeling that has burrowed itself into my chest finally has a name, and I’ve been too much of a coward to say them sooner.

The words hang in the air, heavy and terrifying and real. I don’t move. I don’t breathe.

Her throat bobs. “It scares me,” she admits, her voice quieter now. “I feel so much for you so quickly, and it’s—” She shakes her head, exhaling sharply. “It’s terrifying to fall this hard for someone I’m still getting to know.”

I watch her, my chest tight, my heart pounding. “I get it,” I say. “But, Ana… we know enough.”

She blinks.

I exhale, shifting forward. “I know the way you bite the inside of your cheek when you’re thinking too hard. I know you talk with your hands when you get excited about something. I know you put everyone else first, even when you shouldn’t. I know you care about this team—about these guys—even when you try to act like it’s just another job.”

I pause.

“I know you.”

Her breath catches.

“And I know what I want.”

She presses her lips together, her heart in her throat. “And what’s that?”

I hold her gaze. “You.”

She swallows, her fingers flexing slightly in her lap.

“Give us a real shot, Anastasia,” I murmur, voice lower now.

I reach for her hand, my fingers brushing over hers, warm, steady, grounding.