He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “You don’t have to do this right now.”
“I can do it,” I said, pulling back and reaching for the papers again. “I want to.”
“I don’t want this to ruin our night.”
“It hasn’t,” I said, shaking my head as I looked down at the form. I was actually grateful he’d done it. Taking the time to print the papers meant he actually cared. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
“For what?” he asked, pressing another soft kiss to my temple.
“For pushing me out of my comfort zone. For grounding me.”
He made a quiet sound in the back of his throat before leaning down to capture my mouth again. “Siempre.”
I felt a mix of emotions as he kissed me.
Gratitude to finally have someone by my side who was willing to help me fight.
Fear, because what if we didn’t find more witnesses?
And the biggest fear of all.
What if no one believed me?
CHAPTER 50
Going to work on Monday was, oddly, fine.
Somehow, kissing my boss/neighbor/landlord hadn’t actually caused the world to stop spinning.
I woke up like any normal day. I came downstairs and instead of driving separately, Jay asked if we could go together. He drove with one hand on the wheel and the other laced through my fingers, like it was a totally normal thing we did every morning. No dramatic conversation. No declarations. Just the radio humming quietly in the background and the soft jangle of his yarn keychain against the rearview mirror.
The clinic appeared at the end of the street, and my stomach started doing weird, flipping things again. Jay pulled into his usual spot and turned off the engine.
He glanced at me. Then at our hands.
“So,” he said.
“So.”
“You alright?” he asked, and that was when I finallynoticed his expression was a little wary, like maybe he was worried I might bolt or something.
I bit my lip. “I think so? I don’t know.” I took a deep breath. “It’s just that, even though the last two days have been really great?—”
Saturday had been the day we’d kissed for the first time, and all day Sunday we’d pretty much lounged around the house enjoying each other’s company. It had felt like a literal scene from a movie, getting to just spend the day watching shows, eating snacks, and snuggling.
Now that it was Monday and we were back to our normal schedule, I suddenly didn’t know how to act.
“—this is all so new, and now that we are going to work together, it’s just…”
He smiled, like he’d been waiting for this. “Nothing important is going to change at work.”
I let out a weak laugh. “Even if we’re… doing this?”
He tilted his head. “Doing what?”
I gestured vaguely to our still-interlocked hands resting on the center console. “This.”
“Just because we’re dating now doesn’t mean things at work need to be any different. I promise I’ll be as professional as ever.” There was a mischievous glint in his eye, though, that made me feel slightly skeptical.
