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I nodded, knowing the rest of that sentence by heart, that we knehat it felt like when it’s the right one

I wanted to choke out a sob and tell him I loved him No one had ever been as in love as I was at that moment His s he’d rather look at I felt captured and held by that gaze So, some fear held me back I sed the words I wanted to speak to hi e’d started I wasn’t ready for that, not yet Not when upsettingin the balance I couldn’t just reach out and take what I wanted and everything else be damned My life didn’t operate that way So I forced a sainst him

It had been incredible, not only physically but emotionally The ere connected, the sheer closeness between us I s to him just yet, but there was no way in hell I could pretend ere just friends after that Not after we’d ht I was in too deep to iine I could act casual about this When it felt so profound, so life-changing, I was helpless to put on a false front like ere nothing more than acquaintances, that he was just one of Ryan’s friends

In his strong arms with a blanket drawn over us, I rested I let my eyes drift shut and burrowed into his chest, “I want this every night now,” I htly, never losing awareness of where I was, that I was in Luke’s house, in his bed, that I would have to get up and put on entle, romantic time that I savored At last, I reluctantly sat up and kissed him quickly

“I should be going”

“I’ll walk you to your car, since you parked a few blocks away”

“No The only thing worse than doing the walk of shauy,” I said dismally

“No way you’re walking out of here in the dark by yourself Who do you takethe covers to look for his underwear

I tossed hiled back into er went off

“Are you on call tonight?”

“No Must be soet your shoes on,” he said

I darted to the bathroom, cleaned up and putup his phone and ushered me to the door, “I’m sorry to rush you off like this,” he said

“No, it’s probably better this way I mean not for the people whose house is on fire—I don’tyou’re back here in bed, and I could be with you It’d be hard to resist,” I said

“This way,” he said, leading e