At this moment nothing feels more right. “I will,” I say in a concealed voice as I lean back to him and whisper, “Just onemore kiss.” I lift my hand, hesitating for half a second before curling my fingers into the front of his jacket and pulling him to me. His eyes drop to my lips, and his mouth tightens around mine.
I’m gone.
Maybe this was a mistake to come here, but it’s too late to take it back. I’m so hopelessly falling in love with him.
Our lips melt together, and I rise on my toes as his hand slides around to the back of my neck, the other grips my waist again as he draws me to him. The way he kisses me is like he’s trying to erase every second I’ve pretended I didn’t want this.
When we finally break apart, my heart hammers in my throat. I don’t move, but I manage to whisper, “Whatever happens, just don’t break me.”
His forehead slides in to touch mine, and he brushes a hand over the side of my cheek. “I won’t.” He stares deeply into my eyes as he drops another soft kiss on my forehead and backs away before I ask him to. “I’m saying goodnight now. See you in the morning, Ruth.”
The breath that leaks out is heavy as he turns away. I unlock my door and slide into the dark room with so many emotions pounding in my chest, the strongest one being…I’m falling so hard, and it’s way too late to stop it.
twenty-six
Bill
The early sunrise filters through the jet’s windows, but I’m still yawning as I stretch my arms over my head and glance over at Ruth. Her eyelids waver and drift down like she’s still halfasleep. I reach over and place my hand on her leg. “Thank you for coming. I enjoyed our time together.” I keep my voice low enough to not startle her, as she seems content to snuggle into her seat and continue her night’s rest.
Her hand slides over my hand, sending flutters that ignite in my chest. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s crazy how getting away from things for a couple of nights can really change your perspective.”
I laugh quietly. “That was all part of my plan.”
She gives me a playful side-eye and leans closer to rest her head on my shoulder, shutting her eyes. We settle into the silence with only the hum of the engine filling the air. All our awkwardness toward each other is gone.
But underneath it all, a shift happens inside me. It’s like part of my heart has been rearranged to fit her in it. It’s not just a playful attraction anymore. Every time she catches my gaze, my chest tightens. Even now, as I look at her on my shoulder, my pulse kicks up from the sight of how the sun kisses the side of her face.
It’s obviously too soon to say these things, but I can’t go back to the way we were, where she was afraid to go on public dates with me. I don’t want to hide. I want the whole world to see her beside me and know, without a doubt, she’s mine.
Beneath my pounding heart is a tiny niggling. The thought of her going home and returning to the responsibilities she’s been using as an excuse to keep me out of her life sends a faint ache through me. I guess that’s the risk I took when I came up with this bright idea.
And it was a bright idea, if I do say so myself.
My smile blooms as I easily recall the way her lips felt when she kissed me goodnight. I’d never experienced a kiss like that before. It’s funny when I look back at how this whole flirtationbegan, I saw her as someone beautiful and smart, and someone I wanted to spend time with, but if I’m honest, it stopped there.
That was honestly enough for me. A few playful dates or maybe even casually dating for a while, but now that her head rests on my shoulder, I can’t help but hope it’s the start of a long, beautiful life together
I will find out what happens soon enough.
For now, I will savor the last little bit of time that I have her all to myself. I lower my head on the top of hers, and my eyelids lower from the warmth of her pulling me in. I breathe her in, gratitude filling my heart that for at least the last couple of days, she wasn’t fighting this.
She is falling.
I love watching every minute of it.
twenty-seven
Ruth
The diner smells exactly how it always does. A mixture of coffee and maple syrup, with a spritz of lemon-scented cleaner. Margie is in the back, already heating up the grill by the time I swap the“Open” over and unlock the door, pretending not to notice the low-hanging gray clouds looming directly above the place.
It should be just another Monday in my routine of life, but everything feels off.
Sure, I do everything with ease as I recheck the tables and restock the beverage station. My mind is here, where I’m forcing it to be, but my heart is not here.
It’s like I’ve awakened from a dream I can still feel in my bones. I’ve never been one to even remember my dreams, as they usually slip away the second I open my eyes, but I want to retreat into my mind and go back to how it was on vacation.
That’s enough conflict to deal with, but under that I’ve recently realized I’ve been on autopilot for years without knowing it. I guess it’s the single-mother-survival mode that takes over, but I’ve somehow managed to go day to day for years, and I never thought about the fact that I was a woman who was created to love. Not in the way I love my son, because I poured everything into him, but in the way I felt this weekend. When Noah’s dad died, I just shut all that down. It’s crazy how I forgot I was even capable of that kind of joy.
