Page 63 of Her Age Gap Match

“Poppy—”

“You took the fall for me,” I said. “I didn’t want you to do that. I don’t want you to do that ever, ever again.”

“I know.”

“But you did it anyway.”

“I did.”

I took a step forward and reached up to touch his face. John leant into my touch right away, his eyes closing.

“That was the last time, okay?” I said. “From now on…we don’t take the fall for each other. We do it together or not at all.”

He opened his eyes.

"Okay," he said. "Together."

I dropped my hand. "So what did she say?"

He exhaled. "She's not firing you."

My knees went a little weak. I hadn't realized how much I'd been holding until he said it.

"Jasper went to see her this morning," he said. "Before I even called."

"Of course he did," I said, which made him smile.

"She wants you in Monday. Says there are things to work out, but she’s not losing you over this.” He paused. “You’re not the kind of person people like to lose.”

I pressed my lips together hard.

"Hey," he said, and pulled me in.

I let him. Pressed my face against his chest and just stood there for a second, feeling his arms come around me, feeling the tension I'd been carrying since Tuesday finally start to let go.

"She said something else," he said, into my hair.

"What?"

"She said she should have seen it sooner. You and me." His hand moved up my back. "Said she filed something away the day you took me to the kitchen and made me tea. Should have paid more attention to what she was filing."

I pulled back to look at him.

"She said that?"

"Yeah."

I kept my eyes on him. “I don’t think I ever believed in love at first sight until I met you.”

“Don’t think I did either.”

I pulled back again.

Reached down to tug his shirt over my head.

“Take me back to bed,” I breathed.

He smiled, then moved—and I was suddenly off my feet and laughing as he flung me over his shoulder and headed toward the stairs. I kept laughing as we went up like that, my head bobbing, one of his hands on my ass while the other held my legs tight against his chest so I wouldn’t fall.