I’m half asleep already, warm and safe. “Mm?”
“Today was perfect for me too.”
I sigh a little, content. My hand finds his in the dark.
Yeah. Tomorrow can wait.
Chapter Thirty-Six
All In
Dean
She’s making coffee wrong.
Standing in the villa’s kitchen wearing my shirt and nothing else, she grinds beans like it’s a personal vendetta. Her hair is everywhere—long, unruly, and probably tangled from my hands. I got a little carried away last night.
But how could I not?
“You’re staring,” she says without turning around.
“You’re murdering those beans.”
“They deserve it.” She glances over her shoulder. “Want some?”
“I want to talk.”
The grinder stops and her gaze flicks over to mine. “That sounds ominous.”
“Not ominous. Just…” I scrub a hand through my hair. “Necessary.”
She turns fully now, leaning against the counter, crossing her arms. The gesture pushes my shirt up her thighs, and I lose my train of thought for a second.
“Okay,” she says carefully. “Talk.”
Right. The speech I practiced in the shower. While she was sleeping. While I was panicking about messing this up.
“I figure we have two options,” I start.
Her eyebrow arches. “Only two?”
“Don’t be cute.”
“Can’t help it.” Her mouth lifts in a wry smile.
“Poppy.”
“Sorry.” She’s not sorry. “Continue with your PowerPoint.”
I move closer. I need to be closer. “Option one: We date long distance. You go back to California; I go back to New York. We text, FaceTime, meet up when we can, and see where this goes.”
“Hmm.” She’s doing that thing where she doesn’t give away what she’s thinking. And she’s really damn good at it. “And option two?”
This is the hard part. The scary part. The part where I lay it all out and hope she doesn’t run.
“Option two…” I take a breath. “We go all in.”
“Define ‘all in.’”
