I wanted to close the distance.Press my mouth to his and stop pretending I wasn’t thinking about it every time I was with him.
But fear held me still.Fear that I might have been wrong about him.
Or worse… That I might have been right.
“I’ll let you get on with your day.”I cleared my throat and increased the distance between us.“Same time tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
I turned toward the door, my fingers curling around the cool metal of the knob when his voice stopped me.
“Ariana?”
I looked back.“Yes?”
He hesitated, as if warring with himself.Then he asked, “What if we did something else instead?”
“What do you mean?”I fully faced him.
He shrugged, the normally confident man I’d gotten to know nowhere to be found.It reminded me of the vulnerability he showed me when he was injured.When I held his fate in my hands.
“Maybe we could go somewhere.”
“Go…somewhere?”I repeated, furrowing my brow.
“I thought you might like a change of scenery.”
“Like, back to Maine?”
He laughed quietly.“No.Not to Maine.Somewhere else.I want to show you more of my life.This…” He gestured to the fields stretching out for miles around us.“This is just one part of it.”
I tilted my head.“I thought it wasn’t safe.”
“You’ll be with me.We won’t be going anywhere someone might recognize you.You’ll be protected, Ariana.I never want you to feel anything but safe when you’re with me.”
A week ago, I would have jumped at the opportunity to leave.Run, even.
Now, the thought terrified me.
Not because of the danger outside these walls.But because of what might happen between us if we were truly alone.No distractions.No buffers.Just Henry and me.
“I don’t know if I should leave my mom,” I started.“She?—”
“Yes, you should,” came my mother’s voice from behind me.
I spun around, startled to see her standing in the doorway.“Were you listening to our conversation?”
“Of course.”She smiled sweetly.“And stop being so stubborn, Ari.”
“I’m not being stubborn.You’ve been through a lot these past few years.I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“And you’ve been through a lot, too,” she replied, her eyes softening.“I’ll be fine here.Honestly, I could use a little peace and quiet.Some alone time.”Her lips curved in a knowing grin.“Consider yourself banned from this house for the weekend.”
She winked at Henry, and he returned it with a conspiratorial smile that told me this wasn’t entirely spontaneous.Then she slipped back inside, giving us some semblance of privacy.
But I had no doubt she was still listening.
“What do you say?”he asked.
