Charlotte gulped. “Oh.”
“And you? Had you thought about it before you kissed me?” Marin’s gaze was steady and intense, leaving Charlotte nowhere to hide.
“Yeah.” Charlotte swallowed again, her throat dry. “I knew I was attracted to you, but I only realized it for sure a week or so before I kissed you. Before that, I was in denial, even though I was absolutelyobsessedwith you, because I had never considered that I might not be straight, you know? I’ve been in love with a man. You told me howlong you’d waited to feel passion, and that’s not how it is for me. I’ve felt passion ... with men.”
Marin cocked an eyebrow. “There’s a word for that, you know?”
“Bisexual, I know.” She exhaled. “Or maybe pan. Maybe I’m attracted to the person, not their gender. I just ...”
“You aren’t ready, and that’s fine,” Marin told her. “But it does mean we should probably stop for now. We need to slow down and make sure we’re on the same page.”
Charlotte huffed. “I feel like a tease. I don’t want to make you wait any longer.”
Marin pressed a gentle kiss to Charlotte’s cheek and then slid sideways away from the press of Charlotte’s body. Charlotte missed the contact immediately. “I can wait, and honestly, we have a lot to talk about before we go any further ...ifwe go any further.”
“I want to. I do, but you’re right.” Charlotte looked down at her hands. “I’m not ready. I haven’t thought any of this through. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“That’s fine. No pressure, but ...shit.” Marin’s tone changed on that last word, rising in pitch.
Charlotte stiffened. “What?”
“Ember.” Marin ran a hand through her hair. “I totally ... I wasn’t paying attention.”
Charlotte spun, spotting the puddle by the back door and the shamefaced puppy sitting beside it. “Oh, Ember. We totally ignored you, didn’t we? I’m sorry. Here, let me take you out—then we’ll clean up your accident.”
She hurried to the door, grateful for the distraction but also eager to help because she was fond of the puppy as well as her human. Charlotte opened the door and ushered Ember into the darkened backyard. Since she didn’t have on shoes or a coat, Charlotte watched from the doorway as the puppy scampered across the snow. Ember took care of business, then ran back toward Charlotte.
Charlotte let her inside and closed the door. Marin had just finished cleaning the floor. She stood, not quite managing to hide her grimace as she straightened.
“Nerve pain?” Charlotte asked. “Here, let me help.”
She rushed forward, but Marin waved her off. “It’s mostly just general soreness from moving today. My body feels like I’m eighty sometimes.” She rolled her eyes playfully, but there was something vulnerable in her expression.
“I imagine your body aches like it survived a near-fatal ordeal two years ago,” Charlotte said. “I was there. I saw ...” But she didn’t want to remember how Marin had looked, crumpled and broken in the street, right now. “Anyway, I’m sorry you’re in pain. I wish I’d been here to help you move.”
“The college kids upstairs loaded boxes for me,” Marin said.
“I’m glad you had help.” Charlotte took the dirty paper towels from her and brought them to the kitchen, where she found a trash can. She was washing her hands when Marin joined her at the sink to do the same. Charlotte blanched as a new thought occurred to her. “I didn’t hurt you just now, did I?”
“No, you didn’t.” Marin pressed a firm kiss to Charlotte’s lips. “I wasn’t feeling any pain while we were kissing, trust me.”
Charlotte grinned against her lips. “Good.”
“Very good.” Marin kissed her again. “While we were ignoring my puppy, we also forgot about the lasagna. Want to stay for dinner, maybe talk some more? I’d love to know more about how you’re feeling. I’ve been where you are, figuring out your sexuality, you know?”
“I’d like that. And maybe after dinner, I can help relieve your pain.”
Marin lifted a brow. “I thought we were slowing things down?”
“We are.” Charlotte rested a hand on Marin’s thigh, then winked. “For the record, I was talking about a massage.”
Chapter Nineteen
The lasagna was delicious, although Marin could hardly focus on eating it, she was so distracted by Charlotte sitting on the stool beside her. Charlotte, on the other hand, seemed extremely focused on her lasagna, and Marin suspected she was using it as a distraction while she processed what had happened between them.
Marin was content to give her all the time she needed, as long as Charlotte didn’t shut her out like she’d done after their first kiss. Marin could handle anything but that. “It was lucky that Audrey and Michelle dropped this lasagna off, or I might have been eating oatmeal for dinner. I’m not sure I have much else in the pantry at this point.”
“I’m glad you’ve made friends here,” Charlotte said, darting a glance at her.
