“I’m not dating Nel.”
Air froze in her lungs. “But…Polly heard Maureen and Ferris talking about it in Bloom. They saw you on a date with her.”
“We went on exactly two dates. Then I heard Polly talking to you on the phone at Bloom, and I knew I couldn’t go on a third.”
Her lips formed anO, but no words came out. There wasn’t even a sound.
He cupped her cheek. “This last month, you have beenallI can think about.”
Her brain short-circuited. Every rational thought and idea slipped from her head like sand through fingers. He was all that was left.
“And I do,” he whispered, “want to kiss you.”
He…wanted to…kiss her. She had to slow those words down in her head so they could sink in.
But before they had fully processed, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. And she fell into everything that was Ethan. She fell into the safety of his strong arms. The softness of his lips. And the familiarity of everything that was them eleven years ago.
Her lips parted and he slipped his tongue inside, letting her feel him. How he tasted exactly as she remembered, she had no idea, but he did.
A moan fell from her lips and her fingers twisted in his shirt as if trying to anchor them into the single breath of moment.
When he finally stepped away, every fiber of her being wanted to pull him back. The need spilled into every crevice of her body, making up her entire identity.
He touched his forehead to hers. “Jesus, it’s like you never left.”
She felt it too. The impossible connection that had made up her entire world eleven years ago.
“Thank you.” She scrunched her eyes closed, not sure what she was thanking him for—the kiss? Tonight? Everything?
One more kiss to her lips before he stepped back, his hands going into his pockets, muscles in his arms flexing.
So he wouldn’t touch her again?
“I should get out of here before I do something else. Don’t forget to lock up.”
She stepped inside her apartment and clicked the lock, but that was as far as she got for a few moments.
He wasn’t dating Nel. He didn’t hate her for breaking things off with him and cutting him out. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Was it possible they could actually make things work this time?
She squeezed her eyes shut, hope blooming in her chest.
When she finally turned, it took her a few moments to focus on the apartment. When she did, she noticed the wooden picture frame. It was face down.
Her heart stuttered.
It was the only photo in her apartment. It had also been the only photo in her house in LA. And every time she’d returned home after a trip, it had been facing down.
Every. Single. Time.
Carefully, she lifted the photo of her and her mother. Then she scanned the apartment, a coldness slipping over her skin.
Was it happening again?
No. She’d told her online followers that she’d come home, but she’d never stated where “home” was.
Unless they already knew?
