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For a split second, the air shifted, and she knew it wouldn’t take much for the conversation to veer off in a more serious direction. So she cleared her throat and sat up, breaking the moment before it could go anywhere else.
“Okay,” she said briskly, reaching for the edge of the blanket. “Food first. Then we can decide how lazy we’re going to be.”
Reece watched her for a beat, then smiled. “Yeah,” he said, pushing himself up. “Food first.”
And just like that, the moment passed.
It had been a good day.
It was uncomplicated, which was funny considering how complicated everything actually was.
They’d lingered over breakfast longer than necessary, turned it into lunch without really meaning to, and spent the better part of the afternoon sitting on the couch with a fire roaring in the fireplace while they talked about favorite holiday memories. A movie had played in the background at some point, but neither of them had paid much attention to it.
And for a while, he’d almost managed to forget about all the unanswered questions and everything that came after the holidays.
Almost.
Now, standing in his kitchen while Alesha rinsed out her coffee mug, reality had a way of settling back in.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, leaning against the counter as he watched her.
She shrugged lightly. “It’s just a mug.”
“Still.”
She smiled faintly, setting it on the drying rack before turning to face him. “My dad’s probably wondering where I am. I told him I’d be back tonight.”
There it was. Reality.
He nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”
It did, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.
Alesha glanced around, like she was taking it all in again. His place. The space they’d spent the last day wrapped up in, like it was its own little world.
“Today was nice,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “It was.”
More than nice. But he didn’t say it out loud because he didn’t trust himself.
She reached for her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before hesitating. “We should probably go before it gets too late.”
“Yeah,” he said again as he pushed off the counter and grabbed his keys.
The drive was quiet. Not awkward, just…quiet. But it was different from the night before because there was a little less tension.
Reece kept his eyes on the road, but every now and then, he caught her looking out the window, her expression thoughtful.
Like she was somewhere else entirely.
He wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was—about how easy this all felt, even though it was as complicated as hell.
When he pulled up in front of her father’s house, neither of them moved right away.
“Well,” she said after a moment, her voice light but not quite as steady as it had been earlier. “This is me.”
“Yeah.”
