Page 101 of Enchanted

“Pepperoni,” I groaned as he flicked the box open between us on my bed. “My favourite. How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.” He took a piece for himself. “It’s my favourite too. Much prefer it cold, though.”

“Same.”

We shared another one of those dopey smiles. The ones that should have sirens attached that screamed ‘Too fast. Slow down.’

But there were none. Just a serenity I’d never felt before.

I thought the past year had a lot to do with it. I knew the risks of waiting for happiness to find you now; you might run out of time before it did. The best plan was to grab it with both hands whenever you happened across it.

That’s exactly what I was doing with Rami.

I’d been almost surprised by how little it had bothered me to pack up my life in the house I’d shared with Dave. Even the sight of the room I’d caught him and the twink in hadn’t upset me. All I’d been able to think about was Rami. How he’d treated me over the past few days. When I might next get to see him. I was little better than a hormonal teenager with a crush.

Thankfully, Rami was fully in this with me. For better or worse, we were on the same page.

I couldn’t be happier about it.

“Right,” Rami said once he finished his slice of pizza. “Put these muscles to work, Ethan.”

I raised a brow. “I thought I just had.”

Rami fixed me with a stern glare. At least, he tried. The playful gleam in his eyes kind of ruined what he was going for. “Behave, or we’ll never get you settled in.”

I got to my feet with a grumble. After glancing in a few boxes, I located my old cork board and a box of pins. Another rummage had me pulling out a fat wad of photographs. “Why don’t you arrange all these on here?”

“I meant I could do something requiring heavy lifting, but this is better.” He sank to the floor with more grace than I’d ever seen in a man of his size. “A little glimpse into Ethan Routliff’s life.”

“Don’t get too excited,” I warned him as I turned back to my enormous piles of clothes. “Most of them are old.”

“They are?”

I shrugged a shoulder as I started to hang my clothes. “Hasn’t been a lot I’ve wanted to memorialise the last few years. Not in my personal life, anyway.”

Rami stares at me intently. “Guess we’ll have to make some memories worth photographing.”

“We already have. Can’t tell you how gutted I am that I didn’t think to get some shots of you axe throwing.”

“Thought you’d have enough photos of me already.”

“Yes, but not axe throwing.” I put a hand to my chest in mock outrage. “I mean, how often am I going to get you to pose with dangerous weapons for my amusement?”

He smirked up at me. “Anytime you like, gorgeous.”

We fell into an easy silence then, me sorting clothes, Rami with my memories. I glanced over to see how he was doing and smiled at the photo he was studying closely.

“Oh, I haven’t seen that one in years,” I breathed, dropping the T-shirt I’d been hanging and sinking to my knees. “I forgot I took it.”

Rami handed it to me so I could take a closer look. “Is that your mum?”

“Yes.” The word came out a little choked as I stroked my fingers along the curve of her face. “This was at her fiftieth birthday. The last one I spent with her.”

I caught her mid-laugh, the instant she’d realised I’d replaced the ordinary birthday candles with trick ones. I’d been ready and waiting with my camera, knowing this was the reaction she’d have.

With what happened a month later, I was so fucking grateful I had.

“She was beautiful,” Rami murmured. “You have her eyes and nose.”