I didn’t know what to do. The kiss lingered—gentle, electric—hanging in the air between us. I could still feel the warmth of her hand pressed against my cheek, both of us caught between surprise and something like relief.
But I didn’t want to push. Didn’t want to be one more person who took something from her. So I eased back, heart racing.
“Eliza…”
She touched my chest. “I kissed you. I started it. Don’t you dare apologize to me.”
“But we said?—”
“I know.” She sighed. “Let’s go slow. Can we?”
I nodded, brushing her cheek with the back of my hand. “Whatever pace you need, I’m here.”
The air between us was charged, sweet with possibility, and the last notes of laughter lingering in the kitchen. For a second, neither of us moved, both quietly measuring what this night had given us, and what it might mean tomorrow.
We cleaned in silence after that, moving around each other easily. She laughed once when I dropped a spoon, and I caught her watching me like she didn’t want the night to end.
As we stepped outside, the glow from Graham’s restaurant down the street caught my attention. Lights on. Movement in the window.
Eliza stiffened.
“Don’t,” I said gently. “Don’t give him your peace.”
She glanced up at me, lips parting. “I think he sees us.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I walked her to her car, opened the door, and waited.
She paused. “Thanks for tonight.”
“Anytime.”
She got in, rolled down the window. “Nate?”
“Yeah?”
“I feel like I’m starting to remember who I was before him.”
I swallowed hard. “Good. Because that woman?” I nodded. “I know she’s incredible. Because you’re amazing, just as you are, right now.”
She drove off. I stood there until her taillights disappeared.
Then I turned. Graham stood in his restaurant window, arms folded, gaze fixed on me.
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
I got into my car and smiled. For a moment, the night felt impossibly quiet, the air thick with unsaid words. The distant hum of traffic was miles away, and all I could hear was the echo of her words lingering between us. I took a moment to breathe in the silence, calming the storm inside.
Chapter 16
Eliza
Iwoke up with the remembered taste of Nate’s lips on my tongue.
For a few seconds, I lay still, watching the shadow of the ceiling fan move across the wall while Remy snored like a tiny chainsaw at my feet and Linguini purred on my hip. Last night replayed in flashes—heat from the oven, Nate’s quiet laugh, the way his hand had trembled just the tiniest bit when he brushed flour from my cheek. My face went hot.
I’d kissed him.
