“No, but?—”
“So he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
I sigh, crossing the room and taking a seat next to him on the bed, my hands clasped between my knees.
I hear him sigh before he speaks. “I’m sorry if me being here has caused any trouble….”
How can he think that?“It hasn’t. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yeah?”
I feel a genuine smile ghost my lips. “Yeah. No one’s ever stood up for me at the dinner table like that before.”
He frowns. “Not even your siblings?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“I didn’t stand up for you, anyway. I just reminded him of something I’d be proud of if I were your father.”
I hang my head, watching my thumb methodically stroke circles around the other hand. “It’s not number one though, is it?”
Elias scoffs. “I know the feeling.”
My headshoots up.
“My brother plays Premier League football. Yes … football.”
“What’s Premier League?”
“It’s like the NFL, but better.”
“Better than the NFL?” I ask skeptically.
“Yes. He plays in England, for a team that have won the Champion’s League—that’s like the Superbowl—multiple times. Including this last year.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, exactly.”
I never thought Elias was capable of looking as vulnerable as he does at this moment. When I look more closely at him, I realize that perpetual sandy scruff on his chin has been shaved off. Did he do that for my parents? Because I told him he had to dress up for dinner?God, I’m so stupid.
“Elias?”
“Yes?”
“You must know that you’re incredibly impressive, right?”
He barks a laugh before running a hand over his smooth face.
“I don’t know. I used to think so.”
I put my hand on his shoulder without thinking. As friendly and gregarious as Elias may seem on the surface, there’s something untouchable about him. And that initial contact is like breaking through an invisible barrier you didn’t know was there until you breached it. He looks down at my hand and I tell myself to move it. Except I’m stunned by the way his brown eyes sparkle under the light. The artful way his hair falls over his forehead. And the slightest parting of his lips, exposing a row of straight, white teeth. His gaze flicks up to meet mine and before I understand what’s happening, he’s leaning in, eyes dartingover my face before focusing their attention firmly on my lips.
Oh god, is he going to kiss me?
He pauses a fraction in front of my face, waiting for my reaction and I let go, breaching the gap.
I sigh into his mouth the second our lips connect and am surprised to feel him do the same. My whole body ignites as he presses his fingers against the side of my neck and pulls me deeper into the kiss.
