Page 53 of Let Me Love You

No, he’s been the perfect gentleman.

This is all on me. At this point, leaving this hotel is my number one priority. If I stay, I can’t promise I won’t beg for more. My cheeks heat at the thought. The way he worshipped my body … it’s like he wanted to give me everything because he, too, knew it would probably be the only time he’d be able to touch me so intimately.

I hold back a groan. I’ve tried to resist this entire time, and after one weak moment, I fell into the trap. His steady gaze. His lean muscles. The way he acted like my body was a piece of art meant to only ever be respected.

Stop thinking like that.

What we shared was only physical, and it’s not like we had sex. No promises were made past last night. If we act normally, we can fall back into our old routine, but with me being a lot kinder.

I push myself into a seated position, and Victor cranes his neck to glance back at me. My heart pounds like a stampede of animals as he takes me in. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t move. No reaction whatsoever. Maybe he’s waiting for me to say something first, but I’m not ready.

I break eye contact by reaching for my phone and sending out a quick text to Sully to check in on Summer. Rushing out of the bed, I grab all of my clothes. They’re all I have to wear that aren’t Victor’s pajamas. I can’t believe I’m about to do the walk of shame.

“Here,” Victor says, handing me a bag. When I eye it skeptically, he says, “It’s just a new outfit, so you don’t feel like people are judging you.”

My heart melts. The old me would’ve slung insults at him for spending money on me. But the new me can’t believe he went out of his way to get me an outfit so I wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame out of the hotel.

His arm is still outstretched, so I reach out to grab the bag. Our fingers brush against each other, lingering for a moment, and our gazes hold. There’s a question in his eyes that I can’t answer yet. My breathing turns ragged as I finally pull away, taking a much-needed step backward.

I murmur a quick thank you before bolting into the bathroom. Pulling out the clothes, I find a pair of dark jeans and a black T-shirt. No expensive tags. No extravagant purchase.

He’s paying attention and listening to what I want.

If I want to make it through the next year, I’ll have to pretend last night didn’t happen. We can never let it get any further than what already happened. Victor deserves more than me, and I’ll never stop believing that.

Chapter 24

Serenity

Ihold on to Summer’s hand as we enter Cutesy’s, Elias’s cafe. He serves her favorite hot chocolate. Victor follows behind us, surprisingly not on his phone or in a meeting.

He’s been busier now that he has been following up on leads about the man who broke into my house, even insisting we stay a couple of days longer in hopes he gets something more concrete. He keeps me informed, but so far, there isn’t much to know, and that’s more frustrating than anything.

He’s so focused on our safety this morning, while I’ve been only able to think about last night. I swear I’ve felt Victor’s gaze on me more and more today. His touch lingers as if he’s reluctant to let go but knows he has to.

His arm grazes mine as he walks beside me. The urge to jump away is so great I barely manage to control myself, but I have to act normal. It doesn’t matter I know what it feels like to have his hands on me, to have him worship me, and to have him get me off with only his fingers, yet I screamed so loudly that if I think about it for too long, my cheeks flush.

I’ve managed to act like last night didn’t happen for the past six hours. Well, mostly.

Only another eleven months to go.

Dwelling on what happened will only bring me pain, so I refocus on the cafe. The small business is brimming with customers, and my heart swells. Harmony had told me that Elias needed help sorting through paperwork, bills, and inventory, and her business degree really helped him out. I’m so proud of my baby sister and the life she’s building.

We move into line, and Summer spots Harmony behind the counter. “Auntie!”

Everyone around us looks at Summer as she squeals. Harmony takes off her magenta apron that reads, Cutesy’s Owner Has a Cute Butt and hangs it up before coming out from behind the counter.

I roll my eyes but can’t stop the smile that spreads across my mouth.

“Here’s my favorite customer,” my sister says as she picks up Summer and gives her a bear hug. “Let me guess, a hot chocolate?”

“Yes!”

I laugh. For so long, I had forgotten what that sounded like. Even Harmony eyes me for a moment before turning her attention back to Summer.

The lady in front of us turns around, and I recognize Mrs. Milte immediately. “You’re still in town, dear?”

“Yes, we’re here until this weekend.” I grab hold of Victor’s hand. “We have his parents’ anniversary party on Sunday.”