“It’s more than possible. And for a long time, too.” He took her shoulders in his hands. “Remember when I said if I ever told her you’d be the first to know?” His breath trembled in his chest. “Now you know, Maggie. Now you know.”
Scene34
Maggie
My feet wobbled, and I almost fell down. Swiftly, Mike’s arms held me and prevented the fall. “I need to sit down. I think I’m gonna pass out.”
He helped me down and perched next to me. “You okay?” he asked with worry.
I stared at him for a few seconds. “No.”
“Should I get you some water? Call a doctor?”
I shook my head. “Just hold me.”
His tender smile folded me before his arms. I exhaled a long sigh as I felt his heartbeat banging in his chest. It reminded me of the time when he asked me to go to Japan with him; his heart was racing just like now. I gasped as my mind leafed through all the signals I’d missed. That moment in the limo when he was warm all of a sudden, and what he said when I told him what Kyle thought. That dinner when he thought I was hot and didn’t tell me. That kiss on the neck. Oh God.
I drew back, wondering if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
His eyes tightened as he held my hand and placed it on his heart. “You tell me.”
Just like I was certain of my feelings for the first time in my life, the way his heart was beating and the look in his eyes left me doubtless. Each of us had spent so long struggling to hide our love, bottling it up, and all the while, not knowing that the other person was doing the exact same thing.
“I’m so stupid. So fucking stupid.” I said. “How is this possible? Not feeling each other?”
“I have no idea. For me, I guess, my love for you is just too much. There’s barely any room to feel anything else.”
“Why haven’t you told me?”
“I tried, but I always backed down at the last minute. I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Hurting you. Losing you.” His voice became lower at the end. “I thought you’d think of me differently. You’d misinterpret my intentions.” He moaned. “I was scared, Maggie.”
I smoothed a strand of his dark hair. “And now? You’re still scared?”
“To death.”
“Is this why you haven’t kissed me yet?”
His eyes flickered down to my lips as he nodded.
I leaned into him. “Don’t be.”
“But if I kiss you, this is gonna be real. There’s no turning back,” he said, staring at my lips. “Do you understand me, Carolina? You have to be absolutely sure about this. Please be sure about this.”
“What have I just told you? This is the only thing I’m sure about. Doyouwant this to be real?”
“Yes.” I heard the assertiveness in his voice. “More than anything.”
“Then shut the fuck up and kiss me.”
He leaned toward me, our faces drawing closer, and his lips touched mine with no more hesitation. I closed my eyes and let the outside world fade. The thousand reasons why I shouldn’t be doing this retreated to the back of my head.
As our lips softly moved together, I knew that every heartbreak, every misstep, every tear shed had been worth it for this moment. A strange tingling spread through me as he took my breath away with his kiss. I felt something I’d never had before, not with Kyle, not with anyone. Something deep. Wild. Overpowering.
The one thing that had been missing.
