“She’s warm,” I clarified.“And kind.And she looked at me like she’d known me forever.”
Saint’s jaw flexed, but it wasn’t tension.It was something softer.
“She likes you,” he said.
“I can tell,” I admitted.“That’s why I’m nervous.”
He glanced at me again, his eyes steady.“Why?”
“Because when people like me,” I said slowly, “I always feel like it’s going to… cost something.Like it’s conditional.”
Saint didn’t respond right away.He just drove, hands steady, the engine and the heater filling the space between us.
Then, quietly, he said, “Not with my mom.”
I swallowed again.
The road curved, and suddenly we were near the lake.Saint pulled into a small overlook lot and shut off the engine.
Silence wrapped around us.
The world outside was cold and quiet, but inside the truck, it felt like a cocoon.
Pepper lifted his head, sniffed the air, then settled again with a grunt.
Salt turned his head, looked at me, then at Saint, like he was making sure we were both still here.He snuggled up to Pepper and let out a content sigh.
Saint exhaled slowly.“You okay?”
I nodded, but my voice came out honest.“I’m tired.”
“I know.”
“Tired in my bones,” I added.
Saint’s hand moved to rest over mine, where it sat in my lap.His palm was warm.
“It’s all gonna be okay, doll,” he said.
My breath caught because I felt like if I agreed out loud, something inside me would break open.
So I didn’t say it.
I just turned my hand and laced my fingers with his.
Saint’s gaze met mine.There was no rush in it.No impatience.Just that steady, calm intensity that made me feel like I could fall and he’d catch me without even thinking about it.
He leaned in.
The kiss wasn’t polite like the one on my porch.It wasn’t careful.
It was slow and deep and deliberate, like Saint had been holding himself back all night and had finally decided not to.
My stomach flipped.Heat rushed through me so fast it made my skin buzz.
I kissed him back, fingers tightening around his, and Saint made a low sound in his throat like he felt it too.
Pepper shifted next to me and sneezed loudly.
