Page 131 of You Fall First

I’m not about to let Jo go without trying.

“So.” I gaze down at her. “What now?”

“You mean besides kissing forever?”

My pulse skids to a halt. “That sounds good.”

“But for real, though.” Her beautiful eyes skim my face. “We should probably un-disappear ourselves. If we’re gone any longer, people might … wonder.”

“Yeah.” I run a palm along my neck. Before we answer anyone else’s questions, Jo and I have to decide what we’re doing here ourselves, and that’s going to require a bigger conversation.

As if she’s reading my mind, she says, “We don’t have to figure out everything tonight, though.”

“No, we do not.”

“Can we just …?”

A grin slides onto my face. “We can.”

“So, one thing at a time,” she says. “For now?”

“For now.” I squeeze her hand. “Yes.”

We move to the door, and I check outside to make sure the coast is clear. The hallway is empty, so I step back to make room for Jo to exit before me. While I escort her back to the playroom, I automatically reach for the dip in her spine.

Like that’s where my hand has always belonged.

“Just so you know,” I say in a low voice, “I’m not pretending anymore. Not between us.”

She offers me the sweetest flash of a smile over her shoulder. “Agreed. No more pretending.”

“This is real for me,” I add. Just to be sure she gets what I mean.

“Me too,” she whispers, before turning back down the hall. “I still have no idea where we are, though.”

“Oh. Didn’t I tell you?” I release a low chuckle. “You just kissed me in my office.”

For a pretty big guy, I’m practically floating by the time Jo and I rejoin the crowd. Emotional helium. And that feeling lasts during endless conversations with donors. It lasts while I introduce Paige to my bosses, and to hers. Ultimately, it lasts through our trip to The Gilded Plate catering line.

Jo goes first, and I trail mere inches behind, accidentally on purpose, brushing an arm against her as we serve ourselves. Amelia offers us a warm smile, tells Jo how lovely she looks, then she drifts to the opposite end of the table.

There’s a woman with at least some sense of boundaries.

Oliver, however, is almost too friendly. His eyes follow Jo as she heads to the dining hall before I do. This is the first time all night I’ve let myself be more than five feet from her.

“Nice spread tonight,” I tell him. I can take the high road. After all, I won the girl.

“Thanks, Noah.” He reaches for a handshake, extra firm grip. “And I want to thank you for making Jo so happy.”

I grip back harder until he surrenders. So much for the high road. “I hope she’s happy. She deserves to be. More than anyone.”

Oliver nods.

We agree on something.

“So I guess everything worked out the way it was meant to,” he says. “For all of us.”

“Yeah, well.” I toss out an exaggerated wince. “That one stretch at the end was a little rougher than it needed to be. For Jo.”