“And what do you think?”
“I think Sean can go fuck himself. But I don’t really want to talk about him.” I pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over my lap. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Are you up for more horror after all that?” He tilted his head toward the bathroom.
“Maybe a rom-com instead.”
“Strange choice for a woman who doesn’t believe in love.” A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth, and it made my stomach flip for reasons that had nothing to do with morning sickness.
“Just because I don’t believe in love doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good love story. They still make great movies.”
“You can pick whatever you want.” His hands relaxed, and his eyes didn’t leave mine. “But if I stay, I probably won’t be watching it.”
My heart raced. “What will you be watching?”
“I think you already know.”
He leaned forward on the coffee table, his fingers brushing my knee, then kept coming. One hand found the armrest beside me, the other braced against the back of the couch, his body filling every inch of space between us without touching me.
His face was so close I could count the silver flecks in his eyes. And the way he looked at me made both the blanket and my clothes feel irrelevant.
“If I stay, we’re calling it a date,” he murmured.
“Caleb.”
“I like it when you call me Cal.”
“Cal.”
Whatever I’d been about to say dissolved when his mouth found mine.
It was barely a kiss. More like a brush or a graze. His lips skated over mine so lightly, I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it.
But my whole body ignited.
I wanted to grab him. Pull him down against me. Run my hands through his hair and find out if the rest of him felt as good as his chest had last night.
I didn’t move. God, I couldn’t. I was riveted, every sense overloaded.
His woodsy scent filled my lungs. His body encompassed mine without touching. And his mouth—his devastating, unhurried mouth—held me captive with a caress so achingly tender it made my eyes sting.
When he pulled back, I wanted to protest. To demand he come back and give me more.
But he hovered above me, looking down at me like I was something precious he’d unearthed, and I couldn’t bring myself to demand a thing.
“So, what’s it going to be?”
A lump formed in my throat and I shook my head.
I needed to find my footing. Needed to stop walking this razor’s edge toward something that would hurt us both. More importantly, I needed to stop leading Caleb Alexander into the disaster of my life without giving him the full picture.
“Friends don’t date.” The words were like acid on my tongue. “They don’t kiss. And if they’re really good friends, they can pretend they don’t want those things. Even when they do.”
“Okay.” He kissed my forehead—soft, warm, and so unbearably tender that my composure nearly cracked. Then he straightened, removing himself as my cocoon. “I think I’ll pass on the movie this time, friend.”
He took a step back, and the air between us went cold. “But call me if you’re ever in the mood for a superhero flick. They’re my favorite.”
“Of course they are.” I forced lightness into my voice even though my chest felt hollow. “All the action, fighting, and stuff blowing up. Isn’t that every guy’s favorite?”
