I shake my head. “You don’t get to decide that.”
He leans in slightly. “I don’t want to decide for you. I want you to choose me back.”
Silence.
Warm.
Tense.
Terrifying.
I whisper, “I don’t know if I can.”
He gives a small, devastating smile. “You will.”
My heart does a whole flip.
The server interrupts with the check, and I practically leap to grab my bag. “We should go.”
“Okay.”
We stand.
He guides me toward the door, not touching, not claiming, just close enough that I feel him.
Outside, the night is cool. City lights glow. People pass by.
And Jaxon looks at me like the whole world has slowed down.
“Thank you for dinner,” I say softly.
“Thank you for coming.”
I swallow. “Goodnight.”
He nods once. “Goodnight.”
I turn away.
I take two steps.
Then…
“Ruby.”
I stop.
He doesn’t touch me. He doesn’t move closer. He just says, in a low, certain voice:
“This isn’t the end of tonight.”
My breath catches.
I turn back. “What do you mean?”
He gives me a look that feels like heat sliding over every inch of my skin.
“You’re going to think about me,” he says. “Every minute. Every hour. And when you do?”
