Page 35 of The Broken Keys

“Because I’ve spent five years trying to want something else, and it’s impossible.” The admission comes out exposed. “You’re it for me, Lily. You always have been.”

Before she can respond, before she can retreat behind her walls again, I lean down and kiss her. Not like the careful, tentative kisses from last night, but something deeper, more certain.

She melts into me, her hands fisting in my shirt, and for a second, the world narrows to just this stretch of time. Her mouth on mine, her body pressed against me, and the taste of possibility on my tongue. When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard.

“We should go,” she whispers, but she doesn’t step away.

“Probably.” I rest my forehead against hers. “But I don’t wanna just yet.”

“If we stay here, I’m going to say or do something that complicates everything.”

“What if I want you to complicate everything?”

She laughs, the sound breathless and a little wild. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“Then show me.”

For a beat, I think she might. I see the conflict in her eyes: desire fighting with caution. Then she moves away, putting a couple of feet between us.

“Food.” She nods once. “We should get breakfast.”

I wanna argue and push back, but panic is creeping into her expression. She needs space to consider everything and think about being with me again. And I need to prove I can give her time to figure this out.

“Food it is.” I step back, giving her room. “But you’re picking the place.”

“Deal.”

We gather our things in relative silence, the tension from her office following us as she turns off the lights. When we reach the front door, she fumbles with the alarm code. Her hands are shaking.

“Hey.” I catch her wrist, stilling her movements. “We’re okay. Whatever you’re thinking right now, we’re perfect where we are.”

She gazes up at me, fear written across her face. “I don’t know how to do this, Callum. I don’t know how to let you in without feeling like I’m losing myself.”

“You don’t have to figure it all out today.” I brush my thumb across her skin. Her pulse races under my touch. “Just one day at a time. Can you do that?”

“I think so.” She finishes with the security system, and we step into the hallway together.

Being with her is different now than it has been. Today is fueled with opportunity and the weight of everything we’ve just shared.

It’s like something fundamental has shifted. Not just the physical attraction, though that’s definitely there. It’s deeper than that. It’s the recognition that we’re both different people than we were five years ago, but somehow we still fit.

She’s checking if the door is closed when an intense urge hits me.

“Lily.”

She turns, and before I can second-guess myself, something in me rebels against the idea of this moment ending without acknowledgment of what just happened. I inch into her, backing her gently against the wall.

“Callum…” She breathes, but she doesn’t resist.

I kiss her, and there’s nothing soft about it. This is five years of regret, hope, and desperate need pouring out as my mouth moves against hers.

She responds immediately, her hands pawing at my chest, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us. I push into her more, needing the closeness of our bodies together.

If I could, I’d hold her like this all day. My stomach spins, warmth radiating throughout my chest.

Kissing her is heaven. It always has been, and it’s surreal that she’s giving me this chance.

She breaks away. “That was…”