24. Love Confession
Their 'I love you's were spoken in more than just words. It was spoken in furtive glances, in secret smiles and hushed giggles exchanged in public. It was spoken in gentle touches, fingers making the barest of contact on skin or brushing over silken hair. It was in the coat she made for him, in the way he disregarded the brand-name ones his father provided in favour of wearing hers all winter long instead. It was in the walks he accompanied her on to and from school, strolling so closely that their arms brushed with every step.
It was in the food she made for him, baking chocolate chip cookies and mushroom quiches most often because they were his favourites. In the way she opened her heart and home to him, inviting him to share in the warmth of her parents' doting love. It was found in the flowers he presented to her, when he sat with her to explain the meaning behind each one. It was in the increasingly frequent meetings, their reluctance to part. Lingering gazes and smiles like suns that could illuminate entire worlds.
So when at last they found themselves under the watch of a moonlit sky and lips so close they could feel the other's breath wash over their face, the words came as no surprise.
"I love you."