Footsteps thunder up the stairs, and my heart starts to dance under my ribs.
I stand with my bag crossed over my chest, hands strangling its strap.
When I hear his labored breathing, mine stops.
Time slows like it has permission. I wait with bated breath for those blue eyes, that angled jaw trapping his wide happy smile to find me.
He rounds the flight of stairs, gaze down as he takes them two at a time. He pumps his arms, legs working as he races up the stairs.
Look up, Miles.
I step away from the wall, hoping he’ll see me.
My stomach is suddenly full of fluttering wings.
A small sound slips through my lips, and I school it back too late. Biting down on my bottom lip, the wings in my gut take flight as his blue eyes drift upward.
He comes to a halt clear of the stairs.
Swallowing, I manage, “Hey.”
His face tightens, hand plucking the earbuds from his ears as his chest snaps up and down in rapid succession.
I swear it wasn’t doing that before.
His hands hang by his sides, and his jaw feathers. “Hi, London.”
“H-how was your run?” I ask, my words so soft they almost don’t escape my throat.
Heat floods my neck and face, my heart now a battering ram against my ribs.
“Good, it was good.” He stands, searching my face as his head tilts slightly. “Are you okay?”
Emotion rolls into a ball, occluding my airway.
Finally, I nod.
He takes a step forward.
I tilt my head up, not letting his gaze shift from mine. I know what I want to say. But I’m too scared to let the words form.
He could have moved on.
He could have realized I’m not what he wants.
“I-I’m sorry,” I start, and he closes the distance between us.
“For what, London?”
I open my mouth to say everything, but his brows drop. “For the part where you shut me out. Or the part where your heartwas breaking, and you wouldn’t let me hold you. Or the part where the woman I love with every part of my being—” His face breaks. His jaw flexes as he swallows. Relief washes through me, and I’m shaking. “Beautiful, hell is not being near you, not hearing your damn voice. Not touching you...”
“This place I’ve been living without you was no picnic either, yeah.”
He chuckles.
“Can I see Petal?” I ask.
Mirth claims his face. “Oh I see how it is, Tennison. Only here for the puppy? Typical.”
