“Ow.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Are you or are you not fretting?”
“What does that even mean?”
“Are you thinking about all the ways this could blow up in your face and cause total devastation when it ends?”
“Shut up.”
He laughed hard, and she found another thing about him to like—the sound of his unrestrained laughter.
“No, really, shut right up.”
That made him laugh even harder.
“You’re very cute when you’re annoyed.”
“If that’s true, I must be extremely cute right now.”
“You are.”He leaned in for a kiss, and she turned away from him, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Look at me.”
“I’m mad at you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am!”
“Isla…”
“Yes, Julian?”
“Please look at me.”
Because she already missed looking at him, she turned her head.“What?”
“I don’t want you to fret or worry or be afraid or any of the things your mind is telling you to be concerned about.I’m as lost in this as I’ve ever been in anything, and every minute I spend with you only makes it worse in the best-possible way.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Trust me.I know.But it’s true.I can’t get enough of you, and after tonight… All I’m going to want is more of you.”He twirled a length of her hair around his finger.“Please don’t be afraid of anything having to do with me.”
“It’s not just about me.You know that, right?I come with attachments.”
“Who are as adorable and sweet as their mother.”
“They’re very young, Julian.I’m looking at twenty more years of intensive parenting before they’re launched and on their own.Raising them to be decent, productive humans will be the most important thing I’ll ever do, and I’ll be doing it on my own.”
He tightened the arm he had around her.“I know.”
“In fact, I should be getting home soon.”
