A thought flickered across my mind.
I want to kiss him.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears, but I leaned in anyway, hesitant at first, giving him every possible chance to pull away.
He didn’t.
His breath hitched, eyes widening just a fraction in surprise.
And then he met me halfway.
The kiss was soft at first, tentative, questioning, but when my hand slid up to cup his cheek, something inside him answered.
His fingers brushed the side of my face, warm and steady, and he kissed me again. It was deeper, more certain, his lips moving with a tenderness that made my knees go weak.
Heat curled low in my belly.
I felt that kiss everywhere.
The world dissolved into warmth and breath and the faint smell of his cologne, and when he shifted closer, I went willingly. He eased me back onto the blanket, the two of us wrapped in each other and the dizzy relief of letting go.
His hands were gentle on my waist. Mine slid up the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Every touch was careful, reverent, asking rather than taking.
I hadn’t felt this alive in so long.
When the kiss finally broke, I was breathless. He rested his forehead against mine, eyes searching mine with a question he hadn’t spoken yet.
I swallowed hard. “Alex . . . ”
He lifted his head, worried, flickering across his face. “Yeah?”
I drew in a breath that trembled just a little.
“Will you . . . come back to my place?”
His whole body stilled.
Then he pulled back just enough to look directly into my eyes, his voice low and steady.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded, heart pounding. “Yes.”
His expression softened, something tender and fierce rising in his eyes.
“Then yes,” he whispered. “I’d really like that.”
He squeezed my hand, as if grounding us both.
We rose from the blanket together, stepping into something new, something terrifying, something wondrous.
Something that felt like the start of another life.
25
ALEX
Ipacked up the picnic faster than I think I’ve done anything in my life.
