“You don’t have to stay all night,” she whispered, still looking mortified. “You could leave after we’re sure he’s asleep and come back early tomorrow. If he gets up and sees you’re gone, I’ll tell him you’re out getting donuts.”
Shane cocked his head. “Is this a ploy to get donuts for breakfast?”
April snorted as her body relaxed. “Maybe.”
Shane chuckled. He reached out his arm in invitation and April sat beside him. “I was serious about spending the night.”
April sighed. “If you do, you can sleep in my bed.”
“Really?” he teased.
Her eyes about popped out of her head. “I mean, I won’t be in it. With you. At the same time.”
“That’s too bad.”
She narrowed her eyes. But not for long, when he reached up and stroked her cheek.
"Can you give us another chance?" Shane heard himself say. "We aren't the same people we were."
April was quiet for a long moment, her body warm beside him. Shane could feel his pulse in his throat, waiting.
Then April shifted, leaning into him until her head rested on his shoulder. The simple gesture hit him harder than any kiss. Trust. She was offering him trust.
"I'm scared," she whispered against his shoulder. "Not of you. Of this. Of wanting something this much."
Shane's arm came around her, careful and sure. "I know."
"What if—" She stopped, trying to find the right words. "What if we try this and it doesn't work? Kevin's already attached to you. Hell, I'm already…"
She didn't finish, but Shane heard everything she didn't say.
"Then we figure it out," he said quietly. "Together. Like adults. But April?" He tilted his head until his cheek rested against her hair. "I'm not abandoning you. Not this time. Even if you decide you don't want me, I'm still going to be here for Kevin. Still going to show up. Everything’s different now."
April lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were bright in the warm light from the lamp as she searched his face for something. Whatever she found there must have been enough, because she leaned in and kissed him.
Not like before on the porch—not desperate or hungry or eighteen years overdue. This was softer. Sweeter. A question and an answer all at once. Her lips were warm against his, offeringpossibility. Shane's hand came up to cup her jaw, his thumb stroking her cheekbone as he kissed her back gently with all the patience he'd learned, all the hope he'd been afraid to feel.
She ended the kiss but stayed close enough that he could feel her breath against his lips.
"I'm already thinking about it," she whispered.
Shane's chest tightened. He wanted to pull her back, kiss her again, tell her all the things he'd kept locked up for so long. But April was already standing, putting distance between them even as her gaze stayed on his.
She made it to the hallway before she paused and looked back.
"Ask me again after the hike tomorrow."
Then she was gone, disappearing down the dark hallway toward her room. A door clicked softly shut.
Shane sat there on her couch, holding her pillow that smelled like lilac and home. Through the window, he could see stars scattered across the Colorado sky and hear the river murmur its gentle song.
Ask me again after the hike tomorrow.
Notno.
NotI need to think about it.
Tomorrow.
