“OK,” Landon says, rapping his knuckles on the desk. “I think we’ve covered everything essential—and several things that weren’t essential but were entertaining, nonetheless. Clinical protocols begin Monday. Logan, Audrey—I’ll need daily progress reports. Everyone else, we reconvene next Friday for a status update.”
People start gathering their things. Caleb is murmuring something to Serena about dessert. Bennett and Landon are discussing documentation timelines. And Layla is helping Jenna bag up the leftovers.
I reach for my laptop bag, hyperaware of Audrey doing the same beside me.
“Hey,” she says quietly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Walk me to my car?”
“I’d love to.”
I hold out my hand.
It’s a small thing. A normal thing. People hold hands all the time. But for me, in front of all of them, it feels like stepping off a cliff.
They’re all watching. They’ll see if you mess this up.
She looks at my open palm for a moment—the offer implicit—and then she takes it. Her fingers slide between mine like they belong there.
The cliff doesn’t kill me. The ground holds.
Serena makes a sound that might be a squeal. I don’t look back to confirm.
We walk out of the conference room together, hands linked, and I try to convince myself I don’t care that everyone saw.That Dominic is already planning some kind of celebration. That Caleb will be insufferable about this for weeks.
Everyone knows now. Which means we don’t have to hide it.
The thought should be terrifying. And maybe it is somewhere underneath. But right now, with her hand in mine and her shoulder brushing against my arm, all I can think is…
I can have this. And I can kiss her whenever I want.
CHAPTER 15
Audrey
Logan’s mouth brushes mine in the elevator—quick, celebratory, his smile pressed against my lips—and I add one to the count.
Forty-seven. That’s how many times he’s kissed me over the last two weeks. Yes, I’m counting.
No, I can’t help it.
It’s what I do. Quantify. Measure. Track variables over time to identify patterns and predict outcomes. The fact that I’ve turned Logan’s affection into a dataset probably says something unflattering about my psyche, but at least I know the trend line is moving in the right direction.
There was the kiss just now in the elevator because we’ve hit our first clinical milestone and are heading up to talk to Bennett about the report. But before that, there was the kiss in the break room when we both reached for the last Red Bull—longer, lazier, neither of us caring about the caffeine hit anymore. And the kiss goodnight in the parking garage that turned into three kisses, then five, then me seriously considering dragging him into mybackseat. Before remembering we were on company property with security cameras.
We haven’t done more than kiss. Not yet. There’s an unspoken agreement between us that we’re taking this slow—that after everything, we owe it to ourselves to build this right. And honestly? I don’t mind. Every kiss feels like discovering a new room in a house I thought I knew. Every touch of his hand sends electricity through me. If this is the slow version, I’m not sure I’ll survive what happens when we stop holding back.
Which is its own kind of fear—because I’ve never had something this good before, and that means I’ve never had this much to lose. My brain keeps running failure scenarios in the background, trying to predict what could go wrong so I can prevent it. It’s exhausting, and it’s probably unhealthy, and I can’t seem to stop.
The elevator doors open, and Bennett is already waiting in the hallway, tablet in hand. He looks at us with a bright smile.
“This milestone report is looking amazing,” he says. “The adaptive system has held steady through every stress test, every failure scenario, every worst-case protocol the team could throw at it.”
Logan’s hand tightens around mine. “The stability metrics?”
“Rock solid.” Bennett’s smile widens a fraction. “You two have earned a break. Take the weekend off. Come back Monday ready for the next phase.”
Rest. I barely remember what that word means.
We thank Bennett and head for the parking garage. The evening air is cool against my flushed cheeks as we reach my car.
