So she nodded once, just enough.
Murphy’s smile softened, as if he knew she’d given him more than she usually gave anyone.
Hillary slid onto the counter, the cool granite steadying her legs as Murphy drifted closer, almost shy in the quiet kitchen. Hedidn’t touch her, not at first. He just stood there like being near her was enough.
But then she reached for him.
He stepped between her knees, his arms circling her waist as she pulled him close. Her forehead dipped against his shoulder, breathing in the clean, warm scent of his cologne.
She tilted her head, just a shift, and suddenly they were so close. His lips were a breath away. She hadn’t kissed him since that night in the hotel over a month ago, and God, she wanted to.
So she did.
At first, Murphy was tentative, like he wasn’t sure if this was allowed. But when she pressed closer, he followed her lead, deepening the kiss with the kind of tenderness that unraveled her.
It was too much. Too good.
She pulled back, lips still tingling. “I should probably get some sleep.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, searching her face. “Get some sleep. I’ll grab an Uber.”
“No,” she said quickly, almost too quickly. “Please let the car service drive you.”
His smile was faint but real. “Okay.”
They lingered at the door as he slipped on his coat, the silence heavy but not uncomfortable. Their goodbye was quiet, vulnerable, his hand brushing hers one last time, her gaze lingering longer than it should have.
When he left, Hillary climbed the stairs with her chest tight and her head spinning.
She crawled into bed more confused than ever.
27
HILLARY
The first Monday back, Hillary dropped into her chair and opened her inbox.
Right at the top sat a flagged message from Sasha.Just an update on the state of things.
Hillary clicked it open.
Her screen filled with screenshots with comments, gifs, even fan accounts that had popped up over the last week. All centered on one person.
Murphy.
Her pulse kicked up as she scrolled.
Some were playful, like clips of him dancing at the concert, edits of his big grin with sparkles added in. So many of the damn shirt raises showing his abs. Fan accounts were calling him “hockey’s golden retriever.” But many of them had an edge. Threads about his dimples, his thighs, hispurity.Comments dripping with innuendo, how badly they wanted to “ruin him,” how many women were wanting to ‘corrupt him’.
Hillary’s throat went dry.
Because the worst part was that she agreed.
Murphywasthat good. Too good. Earnest, open, uncomplicated in a way that made people fall in love with him instantly. It wasn’t just the internet seeing him as pure, bright, and unspoiled. That was who he was.
The thought made her stomach twist. She pictured the way he looked at her when they were alone, how easily he laughed, how warm he was when he touched her. She pictured that same light dimming because of her. Because she was older, jaded, too serious, too much of a weight for him to carry.
What if she were the one who clipped his wings?
