My eyes blink open and I stare up at Ray. My head is resting in his lap.
A blanket has been draped over me at some point during the night, and one of Ray’s arms hangs loosely across my waist, like even asleep he wanted to make sure I was still there.
My breath catches softly.
The television across the room is still playing some documentary on low volume, the city skyline glowing brightly through the huge windows beyond it.
We must have fallen asleep on the couch after getting back from our walk.
Carefully, I tilt my head back slightly to look up at him. He’s completely out. And somehow, asleep, Ray looks younger. The permanent tension usually pulling at his features has gone entirely.
His dark hair has fallen messily across his forehead, his lips slightly parted as he breathes deeply.
Last night keeps replaying in my head.
His hand holding mine.
The flowers.
The way he looked at me outside the casino.Like not kissing me was taking every ounce of restraint he had left.
And the worst part? I wanted him to.Badly.The realisation sends heat creeping into my cheeks even now.Because somewhere between bacon baps and vulnerable confessions in the middle of London, this stopped feeling complicated andstarted feeling normal. And fuck knows it’s been a long time since I felt like that.
I’m falling for him.Shit. I am . . . again!
A soft sound in the hallway makes me look up and Lucy appears moments later carrying a coffee mug.
She takes one step into the room—
And freezes.
Her eyes widen dramatically as she stares at us tangled together on the couch.
Oh god.
I carefully lift Ray’s arm from my waist and slowly sit up, trying not to wake him. Lucy’s gaze flicks between us, absolutely thriving internally despite the fact she’s trying not to show it.
I press a finger to my lips in warning and her grin widens immediately. I quietly stand, adjusting the blanket over Ray instinctively before heading towards the kitchen.
Lucy follows silently behind me.
The second we step inside, I brace myself for her interrogation. Instead, she leans against the counter, watching me carefully for a moment before smiling softly.
“Well,” she says. “That’s new.”
Heat floods my face instantly. “We just fell asleep.”
“Mmhmm.”
I groan. “Lucy.”
But surprisingly, she doesn’t tease me further. Instead, her eyes drift briefly towards the living room. “Maybe,” she says thoughtfully, “he’s not quite as bad as I originally thought.”
The words catch me off guard enough that I blink at her. “That’s practically a declaration of love coming from you,” I mutter. “So, you’re telling me one meal and he’s won you over?”
She snorts softly into her coffee before looking back at me properly. “I wouldn’t say that,” she begins before shrugging. “But I caught the way he looks at you. It’s different from before.”
My stomach flips awkwardly. “Different how?”
