He glances at me thoughtfully, then looks back down at the bowl.
“Charlotte,” he says quietly.
“Yes?”
“You’ve never once been normal.”
Heat floods my cheeks.
I should walk away, should redirect the conversation, and I definitely should stop staring at his mouth.
Instead I ask, “Is that a problem?”
He doesn’t answer.
At least not with words.
He lifts his eyes to mine, steady and warm, and the way he takes me in knocks the air right out of me.
My hand rests on the counter, and he moves toward it. We’re both pretending this is accidental, but it isn’t, not even close. His fingers brush mine and I feel it everywhere.
He must feel it too, because he freezes, then exhales through his nose like he’s holding himself back.
“Charlotte,” he murmurs.
“Yeah,” I whisper back.
We are dangerously close.
I should step away.
I don’t.
He leans in a little, I lean in a little, and we would absolutely kiss right then if a voice didn’t cheerfully announce.
“I finished my cookie!”
We jump apart like we’ve been caught. Maisie appears in the doorway; her face covered in crumbs.
Liam clears his throat, adjusting himself like he needs a second to recover. “Good job,” he says, voice too rough to sell the lie.
She looks at us, head tilted. “Why are your faces red?”
“We’re baking,” I blurt.
“Yes,” Liam agrees, too quickly. “Heat.”
Maisie shrugs like adults are very strange, she skips out of the room and returns to her coloring.
Liam and I stand there, completely rattled.
“You okay?” I ask.
“No,” he says honestly.
“Same.”
Liam moves toward me, focused in a way that sends a jolt through my whole body. I step in too. No more sidestepping. No more pretending this isn’t happening. The pull between us finally wins. He reaches for my face, slow enough for me to stop him. I won't stop him. I lean into his touch like it’s been waiting for me.
