“It doesn’t matter,” he said in a low tone. “I’m only like this with you.”
My breath caught in my throat and our eyes met. We were so close and I could see flecks of gold in his brown eyes.
“R-really?” I asked.
He slowly nodded. “Even when I know I shouldn’t.”
My head cocked to the side. “Why shouldn’t you?”
“Do you want a PowerPoint or a list?”
“A list will do.”
He huffed out a laugh. “You could just agree with me.”
“That’ll never happen. Sorry.”
“Fine.” He went back to the cream as he spoke. “I’m too old for you. I have a bad past. Things around me could collapse at any time.”
The feel of him was distracting, but I focused on what he was saying. He needed to know what I was thinking.
“We’re in similar parts of our lives,” I managed to say. “I know your past, and things around me could fall apart too.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Make me want to continue this anyway.”
I straightened. My heart was pounding. I wanted to ask—no, beg—for him to do whatever he wanted to. I wanted whatever he would give me.
But could I give it?
I considered the skin of his neck, which was right in front of me. What would it be like to press my face into it? To completely give in and let him touch me however he wanted?
My body tightened, and I wasn’t sure if it was from fear.
“I need to get back to the front.”
I slowly nodded. He was pushing away, more than likely out of fear. Normally, I would respect it and give him his space.
This time, I didn’t want to. I wanted to push and see where we ended up.
Whether it ended it heartbreak or something more, I had to determine if I was ready for it.
Theo took me up front, where Kelsey had another coffee ready.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m fine. Theo patched me up.”
Kelsey nodded and then looked over at Theo, who wasalready helping another customer. “Might wanna lock him down.”
My cheeks went red as I remembered what he’d just told me. “Think he’d go for it?”
“With you? Yes.”
“I wanna try, but ... The touching thing is difficult to get around.”
