Page 87 of One Midnight Kiss

She shook her head, still smiling. “You’re impossible.”

“On the contrary. When it comes to you, I am very easy.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted her closer. I wanted her with me, in my world. And more than that, I just wanted her.

I’m kind of tired of dancing around what we are to each other. Doesn’t she get how much I like her?

I had fallen for her, that was clear. I fell hard. It was a reality I had been trying to ignore, but it was just there. I understood she was afraid to get hurt, but honestly, this girl was shattering my heart with each second that passed with her inability to just let me in.

I was starting to regret putting the ring on her finger. It might have sabotaged me from getting the chance to actually do this right. What if I wanted to propose for real someday and the stupid fake ring ruined it? What if we continued down this road of lies and games of pretend, and it ended up costing me more than I was willing to pay?

I realized that I would burn Hanna to the ground if it meant I could burn down Natalia’s walls, too. To get her to trust me, I had to drop my guard first. I needed to be willing to let her stomp all over my heart if there was ever going to be a chance between us.

“Natalia,” I said quietly, mustering up the courage I needed to get the words out. “I want this to be more.”

She looked up at me, startled. “More? What?”

“More than just sex. More than a fake engagement.”

Her expression twisted, like I’d hurt her somehow. “I thought you didn’t care about all that.”

“I care now,” I admitted. It felt like ripping my chest open, exposing my heart, but I needed her to see it. “I want you. And not just for tonight.”

She leaned forward and put her glass down, standing up abruptly, like she couldn’t stand to be near me. “Fox, I can’t⁠—”

“Yes, you can,” I interrupted and jumped to my feet. “You’re it for me, don’t you get that? I’ve never felt like this about anyone. I thought I did once, but it was never like this.”

She spun the ring on her finger, a nervous habit I had noticed. I put that ring there, and now I wondered if it was a mistake. What if I had ruined things before they ever started?

“I was going to go back to Paris this year,” I blurted out, desperate to make her understand. “I thought maybe I would find the woman I met there last year. We barely spoke and I never got her name, but I was convinced she was the one for me. All year, I’ve been waiting to go back to Paris to find her. I told her I would meet her at the same place, but looking back, I realize that was a fairytale. You are the real deal. Whatever this is—it’s real. I want to be with you.”

Natalia’s face went pale. She took a step back, grabbing her coat and practically running for the door.

“You’re leaving?” I asked in disbelief. “Now?”

She didn’t answer. The door slammed shut behind her. I stared at it in disbelief. I expected there to be some surprise and maybe even hesitation, but her running out on me was a shock.

Now what?