The kiss was brief. Controlled. A brush of mouths that carried more promise than fulfillment.
No tongue. No hunger unleashed.
Just acknowledgment.
When we pulled apart, my heart was racing.
His forehead rested lightly against mine for half a second before he stepped back.
We both knew we’d crossed something.
And we’d chosen to stop.
“That’s all,” he said quietly. “For now.”
“For now,” I echoed.
We left together a few minutes later, stepping back into the cool Paris afternoon like we were reentering a different world.
My body buzzed. My thoughts felt scattered and sharp.
The city looked different again.
Closer.
More dangerous.
More alive.
And for the first time since arriving, I understood something essential about myself.
I didn’t want safety if it meant numbness.
I wanted awareness.
I wanted choice.
And I wanted the man walking beside me—careful, controlled, and watching me like he was already braced for impact—to be part of whatever I was becoming.
Even if it ruined me.
Especially if it did.
9
CONNOR
We walked in silence.
Not the comfortable kind. The kind where every footstep felt too loud and every unspoken word hung between us like a question neither of us knew how to answer.
The kiss had changed something. Shifted the ground beneath us. And now we were both trying to figure out how to move forward without acknowledging that the world had tilted.
I surprised myself by breaking it.
"I actually hate places like that."
Mila's head turned sharply, then she laughed—a genuine, surprised sound that made something in my chest loosen.
