Theo pulls back, murmuring apologies, so I open my eyes and cup the back of his head. He doesn’t fight me for even a heartbeat as I draw him back to me.
His soft lips settle on mine as I slide my fingers into his hair.
Unlike the kiss in the barn, this one is slow and careful. Theo whimpers against my lips, and I shift so I can pull him closer. Parting my lips, I give him the choice to deepen it.
He does. His tongue comes out tentatively, brushing my bottom lip before slipping past them both and sweeping into my mouth. This time, he moans, and I echo the sound.
That’s as far as it goes. Just a slow, sleepy kiss. It’s promise and trust and hope all in one, and I never want to give this up. Givehimup.
Finally, he pulls away with a soft sigh, resting his forehead on mine.
“Goodnight, Hunter,” he whispers against my lips.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” I whisper back, my heart hammering.
With one more gentle press of his lips to mine, he shifts, snuggling into my side and resting his head over my heart.
Can he hear how hard it’s beating?
Does this feel as natural to him as it does to me?
I wrap my arm around him, and within minutes, his weight grows heavier and his breathing evens out. The steady rise and fall of his back under my palm lulls me to sleep.
Chapter 25
Theo
Isignintomytherapy appointment with more energy than I had for the last one, but still not nearly enough.
I want to get help. I do. I want medication. I want to be happy—not just barely making it, but actually happy. I want to reach out and touch it. I want it to take the place of the agony that lives inside of me now.
“Theo.” Charlotte smiles at me.
She’s been my therapist since right after I divorced Damien. I know sometimes it takes a while to find someone you clickwith. That was not my experience with her. I’m not sure if it was because she has a calming presence—she does—or if it was simply because I needed someone,anyone,to talk to about Damien, and she was the first person I came across.
I try to smile back. “Hi.”
“How have you been since our last appointment?”
I shrug, thankful we’re doing this virtually and not in person. “Not… great?”
“Okay,” she says. “Where would you like to start?”
“So I lost my job, and then I got evicted. Or, well, I’m getting evicted. And now I’m staying with Hunter.”
I think most people would be looking at me with concern. Not Charlotte. Professional as ever, she clicks her pen and sits up a little straighter. “Is this a good move, you think?”
“I like him.”
She nods. “From what you’ve told me, it seems like he’s been a good friend to you the last few months.”
My stomach flips. He has. A good friend and so much more. He’s kind of been everything to me the last few months. Would I even be alive right now if not for him? Would I have self-isolated into nothing? Would I have jumped? I don’t know. I’d like to think I wouldn’t have.
“He has been. But I—” I glance around, even though I don’t need to. Hunter kissed my forehead and told me he was going to the barn while I was at my appointment. I have full trust that he wouldn’t be lurking outside the door or anything. “I think it might be more than that.”
At least for me. I think for Hunter too. But who knows? I’m… fragile right now, I think. And even though I can’t see him kissing me or cuddling with me or letting me sleep in his bed out of obligation… well, you just never really know, I guess.
Charlotte doesn’t give anything away. “This is the first time since Damien that you’ve developed feelings for someone. How are you handling that?”
