“Now.”
Chapter 12
Emma
My heart is hammering.I have no clue what he’s planned. All I know is that I’m lying on a mattress in the back of a truck that isn’t his. Definitely not what I expected on our second date.
When he gives the signal, I open my eyes and instantly forget how to breathe.
Stars. Thousands of them. A spill of silver across a sky so dark it looks painted. The Milky Way curves over the black silhouettesof the hills. It’s breathtaking in a way that feels almost private, as if he somehow knew exactly what would undo me. My chest tightens and, for a brief moment, the joy is so sharp it nearly aches.
Then, as always, doubt tries to slip in behind it. Women like me don’t get nights like this. Don’t get gestures like this. Don’t get men who bother. My mother’s voice slides in, smooth and familiar.Don’t get carried away, Emma. You know how this usually ends.
I shove the thought aside, grab Alex’s shirt and pull him down to me, kissing him with all the feeling I can’t articulate. He laughs softly when I let him breathe again and rests beside me.
“Good surprise?” he teases gently.
“The best,” I say, and heart and soul warms in a way that terrifies and thrills me in equal measure.
We lie together in a comfortable, perfect silence. The stars shimmer overhead, the grass rustles quietly, and something inside me wants to reach for him, just to make sure he’s real. I search for his hand on the mattress, and when our fingers link, something settles inside me. Soft. Steady. Hopeful.
Of course, doubt isn’t finished with me. It never is.Careful. Men get bored. Don’t make yourself appear ridiculous.
I squeeze his hand, holding on as if the contact itself can quiet that voice.
“Why are you doing this for me?” I whisper eventually, the question slipping out before I can censor it.
He turns slightly, propping his head on his hand. “Because I wanted to do something that makes you happy.”
It’s simple. Too simple. A familiar ache starts in my stomach.
“I just… don’t get it.” My eyes stay fixed on the sky. “All my life I’ve been told I need to be thinner, more mature, cleverer, quieter, less me. I’m too geeky, wasting my time with the florist, always doing something wrong. My mum especially.” I can’t hide the old bruise in my voice. “And then you come along. You could have anyone… yet you make all this fuss about me. It doesn’t add up.”
He tenses beside me, not in irritation, but with something far fiercer.
“Emma.” He takes my chin gently, turning my face to his. “You’re an amazing woman. Funny. Interesting. Beautiful. Anyone who’s ever made you feel different shouldn’t have had a single moment of your time.”
Beautiful. The word sits on my skin like something unfamiliar but not unwelcome. My mother’s voice tries to rise again, reminding me not to be gullible, but Alex’s expression dismantles it before it can get a foothold.
I take a shaky breath. “The truth is… I like myself at home. Behind my walls. I think I can even look cute sometimes. I likemy weird passions and my geekiness. But when I go out there, I only see myself the way other people taught me to.”
He brushes a strand of hair from my cheek, eyes steady. “You’ve spent years hearing the wrong voices,” he murmurs. “Let me be a better one.”
Warmth spreads through me so quickly it almost feels like fear, except it isn’t fear. Not exactly. Something gentler. Something that might one day become trust, if I let it.
I reach up and thread my fingers into his hair. He hovers over me for a heartbeat, his breath brushing my lips. I close the final distance and kiss him. It’s slow and deliberate, a kiss that feels like choosing something new. He kisses me back with a tenderness that brings light into my soul.
When he shifts closer, pressing his body to mine, heat spreads through me. I can feel how much he wants me. For a moment, my mother’s voice tries to sneak in again, whispering that men like him don’t want girls like me. But the sound he makes when I nibble his bottom lip obliterates that lie with embarrassing ease.
A cool breeze sweeps across the field and I shiver. Alex sits up, pulls the duvet over us and tucks it around my shoulders. It helps, but not enough. I move closer, curling against his chest. His arms wrap around me immediately, as if this is the most natural place in the world.
“I wish I could stop time,” I murmur. “This is as perfect as it gets.”
As soon as perfect enters my mind, doubt tries to follow it like a shadow.This won’t last. Don’t be ridiculous.
But then Alex whispers, “We can stay here all night if you want,” and his voice disarms the fear before it can root itself. My body softens against him, trusting him in a way that both terrifies and settles me.
I lift my head, kiss him again, and something in the air shifts—warm, magnetic, inevitable.
