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Allowing Henry in when I’d been overwhelmed by all my emotions had changed something between us, and instead of driving a wedge, we’d become closer. Turned out, the very thing I’d been avoiding—vulnerability and intimacy—was the very thing that gave me exactly what I’d always wanted but never thought I could have.

A real chance at a relationship. A real chance at love.

On Monday night, just after we’d sat down to dinner, I found Henry staring at me over his plate of pasta primavera. “What?” I asked before shoving a forkful of fresh deliciousness into my mouth.

He smiled almost apologetically, and my gut lurched. I set down my fork, reaching for my water glass to wash down the pasta that had turned into a lump in my throat. “Since we’re heading back to real life tomorrow, I thought we should talk.”

I gulped down the water, but it didn’t help. My stomach was churning now. “What about?”

Henry’s smile softened. “I wanted to get on the same page about us.”

My shoulders relaxed, just a little, though my guard was still up. “That seems reasonable.”

He grinned at me. “Good. I was wondering how you thought we should define ourselves.”

I lifted an eyebrow his direction. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend, Henry?”

His nervous chuckle and the hand that scraped through his hair endeared me to him even more. “I suppose I am.”

I waited until his eyes strayed back to mine before I replied. “I would love to be your boyfriend. And your boy.” I fluttered my eyelashes until he laughed, breaking the serious tension in the room. “Would you like to be my Daddy?”

His smile was wide, and it lit up something inside me that had long since gone dark. “With all my heart, sweet boy.”

“Good.” After I shot him a smile that mirrored his, we both tucked into our food. As we ate, something else came to mind, something I wasn’t sure how to bring up because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I chewed heartily, consuming my meal quickly because I was starving—probably from all the sex—as I contemplated the best way to bring up the sensitive topic.

Henry’s fork dropped to his plate with an abnormally loud clank that echoed in the silent room. My eyes flew to his, worried he’d see the conflict in my gaze and somehow know that I was a piece of shit who didn’t deserve—

“Stop.”

I blinked, furrowing my brow. “Stop what?”

“I can practically hear you thinking, Angel Baby. What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”

I looked away, shoving another bite of now lukewarm pasta into my mouth.

I heard him sigh, and his chair creaked as he leaned back in it. “Ah. You think we shouldn’t tell people about us.”

My eyes shot wide, and I found his gaze once again. “How . . . how the hell did you know that’s what I was thinking?”

He crossed his arms, smirking in a way that didn’t have a right to be as hot as it was. “I know you, baby. And while I’d be more than happy shouting this from the rooftops, I actually agree. I think we should wait a bit, at least.”

My mouth dropped open this time. “You do?”

He nodded. “Yes. We talked about both of us going to therapy. Neither of us have much experience with long-term relationships, at least not healthy ones. I think it’s wise for us to keep this to ourselves until we sort some things out, both with ourselves and each other.”

I swallowed my latest bite. “You don’t . . . you’re not mad?”

“Oh, my sweet boy.” Henry stood, coming to my side and pulling me against his stomach. I wrapped my arms around his hips, conveniently copping a feel of his delectable ass as I did. “I’m not mad. It makes sense to give this a trial run, work on ourselves a bit to see if we can make this work long-term.”

He pulled back, and I looked up to catch his gaze.

His eyes were soft as he qualified, “If you want to make it work long-term.”

I nodded vigorously, feeling certain about everything with his arms around me. “I want. I so want.”

He chuckled, pulling my head against his nearly flat stomach with just the right amount of padding again. “Me, too, baby.” Then he bent in half, seeking my lips. I kissed him back eagerly, my skin heating up and food forgotten as I pushed to standing, our lips connected the entire time. When I leaned against him until there wasn’t an inch between us, I didn’t care if I ever ate again. I could subsist on Henry for the rest of my life.

Henry was the first to pull back, and I gasped for air as we parted. His eyes locked onto mine, and we simply stared at each other, sharing each other’s air, as we caught our breath.