Page 168 of Reeves

His mouth finds mine, soft and sure, and I melt into him completely. When we break apart, he brushes a strand of hair off my cheek.

"Thank you for coming. For bringing him here."

"Thank you for thinking of it. The broken AC might have been a blessing in disguise after all."

His thumb traces my bottom lip, and I catch his hand, holding it against my cheek. "One hundred percent."

"We have to take advantage of the time we have left."

The words hang between us, heavier than I intended. His expression shifts, and I see the same awareness in his green eyes.

"Charli..."

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't want to ruin tonight, but it's gnawing at me. We need to talk about it, don't we? About what this is and what happens after Friday?"

He doesn't answer right away, but he doesn't let go of me either. His other hand stops on my hip, thumb moving in slow circles through the fabric of my dress.

"Yeah. We do."

He reaches behind him to the counter and hands me a glass. Ice clinks against crystal, and the scent of lime cuts through the air between us. The pale green liquid catches the light, familiar and perfect.

I lift the glass and take a sip. The gin burns slightly, balanced by the lime juice and simple syrup. Everything tastes exactly right.

"You remembered."

"How could I forget your favorite drink?" He pushes the cutting board with lime wedges to the side and smiles proudly. "I went to three stores to find the right gin."

I take another sip and watch him over the rim. His eyes trackthe movement of my glass to my lips, then back to meet mine, waiting to see if I like it. The intensity there makes my stomach flutter.

"How did I do?"

"You nailed it. Thank you."

He nods once, like that settles it, then reaches for his glass. “Yeah… let’s do this.”

I follow, choosing the middle cushion on the far end. Not too close, but not avoiding him either. He angles his body toward me, one arm stretched along the back of the couch. His bourbon sits untouched on the coffee table.

"This is surreal," I say, swirling the ice in my glass.

"Which part?"

"All of it. You being here. This place. Us sitting together like normal people having drinks while our son sleeps in the other room."

He runs his fingers through his hair, leaving it slightly mussed. "We were never normal."

"No. We definitely weren't."

The quiet stretches between us. I watch him lean forward to retrieve his bourbon, the way his shoulders move under the cotton shirt. The dip at his collarbone catches my eye, and my stomach tightens.

He takes a small sip and sets it back down, but his hand stays on the glass.

"We need to figure out what we're doing here, Reeves."

"I know."

"I mean really figure it out. Not just the next few days, but after Friday. After you leave." I shift on the couch, tucking one leg under me. "There's Benjy to think about now."

His jaw tightens slightly. "I don't want to mess up what you've built."