“Other women would be mad over that. If you were insecure—really insecure about the way we met—you wouldn’t have laughed.”
Her smile dropped and she absorbed the words. “You’re right. Years ago, I would have gotten upset. I would have told myself I had done something wrong. But now, with you, it’s just another easy joke.”
“That’s what I’ve been looking for.This.” His hand was moving back and forth between them.
“I always knew I wanted it, just didn’t know if I’d find it. I definitely didn’t think I’d find it with you.”
“Yeah, well, you did.” He tugged her closer. Not tucking her under his arm, but close enough for their eyes to lock. “And that’s why I’m telling you I love you.” His words came out steady but full of weight. “What I feel with you…what I feelforyou. It’s not something I’ve ever had before. I’ve said the words before, maybe even thought I meant them. But this…this is real.”
Her breath caught, eyes blinking fast as a tear slipped free. “Oh wow.”
He laughed under his breath, more nervous than amused. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“No,” she whispered, cupping his jaw. “I love you too. I think I have for a while now. I just kept telling myself it was too soon. Too fast. Too complicated to ever last.”
He smiled, brushing his thumb across her cheek. “Itisfast. But not too soon. And it’s going to last, Nora.”
She shook her head lightly, still smiling through her eyes filling. “No one can predict the future, Ethan. I’m not even going to try. But right now…I just want to live in this moment, and be grateful I found more than I ever bargained for when I moved here.”
29
BLURRING THOSE LINES
Ethan unlocked his office at seven on Tuesday morning, sweat slicking his skin and exhaustion pressing behind his eyes. A long run hadn’t helped. Neither had the sleepless night that came before it.
Sleep had become a stranger lately unless Nora was next to him. Those were the only mornings he ever woke up rested. The only time his mind didn’t race itself into exhaustion.
And after Sunday, after he’d told her he loved her and she’d said it back, he’d honestly thought she’d stay longer than one night.
But by midafternoon, she’d slipped out like she always did.
Monday had been all business. They’d seen each other at the office, keeping things professional. He’d gone to a late dinner meeting afterward, the kind of thing he used to drag Blair to without thinking twice. It would have been natural back then, expected even.
But now? The idea of asking Nora to come along hadn’t felt right. Not yet. Not when she was still careful of what they had. Or how they acted around each other and not blurring those lines in public.
He moved through the quiet office, the stillness almost comforting in an eerie way. This early, no one was around. Just the faint hum of the building on this floor, the echo of his own thoughts.
In the bathroom, he turned on the shower and let the water heat while he grabbed fresh clothes from the small closet. When he stepped under the spray, the first hit of hot water across his shoulders made him groan, then he adjusted it cooler. He scrubbed fast, then stood there for a long moment, palms braced against the tile, his head down, letting the water pound over him.
Why the hell couldn’t he justaskher to stay? Not hint.
Not hope.
Just say it.
He knew how she felt now. She’d said the words. She meant them.
She knew how he felt. And that he meant them also.
And yet here he was, still overthinking, still holding back for fear of pushing her away rather than going after what he wanted. Like he always did.
Those times it failed. This time he wouldn’t let that happen.
So that meant biting his tongue, holding his breath, and hoping to hell she caught up.
The secrecy didn’t matter to him anymore. Not like it did to her. He’d honor it in the office, but outside these walls? It was getting harder to pretend she wasn’t already his whole damn world.
He shut the water off, reached for the towel, rubbed it across his head, dried off his chest and the rest of his body, and was holding it in front of him when the bathroom door opened.
