“Thank you,” I say quietly. “For coming. For—everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do, though.” I meet his eyes.
We sit in silence for a while. Neither of us mentions what happened at the door. We don’t have to. It’s there in every breath.
Finally, Mateo stands, pulling me up with him. “You should get some rest. It’s late.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right here.” He gestures to the couch. “Not going anywhere.”
That same electric awareness from earlier jolts through me. He doesn’t step back this time. Instead, he pulls me into a hug. It’s slow and deliberate. His arms wrap around me like he’s making sure I know this isn’t accidental. I press my face against his chest and breathe him in. Smoke and metal and warmth.
He presses a kiss to the top of my head. Lingering. Like a promise he’s not ready to say out loud.
“Goodnight,tesoro,“ he murmurs into my hair.
“Goodnight, Mateo.”
I head to my bedroom and close the door behind me. And as I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, all I can think about is how he held me like I was something worth holding.
And how much I wanted to stay in his arms.
CHAPTER 10
“You’re fidgeting.”
I look up from where I’ve been adjusting my necklace for the third time. Macy stands in my bedroom doorway, arms crossed, grinning.
“I’m not fidgeting.” It’s a lie. I’m absolutely fidgeting. I can’t help it. I’ve been able to stay confined to my apartment and the bookstore since news got around that I’m Sienna Saguaro. Tonight will be the first night I’m going out in public.
Around people.
Lots of people.
“You’ve changed your shirt twice, and you’re currently strangling that necklace.” She comes in and gently takes my hands. “It’s just Sips & Stars. You’ve been a dozen times.”
Sips & Stars was Mateo’s idea. He’d suggested it yesterday morning. When Macy showed up at my door instead of him, she shrugged and said he was running behind.He’ll meet us there.
I sigh. “That was before everyone knew I wrote smut about their town.”
“You wrote romance, not smut. There’s a difference.”
“Tell that to Judith Ashford.”
Macy’s grin fades. “Is that what this is about? You’re worried about running into her?”
“Wouldn’t you be?” I sink onto my bed. “She hasn’t said anything directly to me yet. Just those passive-aggressive Facebook comments. But at a public event? With wine?”
“Judith doesn’t drink.”
“But other people do. People who agree with her. All it takes is one comment for the entire night to crash down. People are going to be watching my every move. Judging me and my ways.”
Macy laughs. “And what ways are those?”
“My smut—“
