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“I was going to suggest my place instead,” she said. “It’s closer.”
If he’d had a mirror in front of him, he knew he would have seen a grin that matched hers.
***
This was it.
An unexpectedly romantic evening with wine and food and delectable dessert was about to be followed by her inviting Eli into her bedroom. So lost in the magic of their conversation and the subtle ways he shared his secrets, Isa hadn’t considered, until Eli pulled into her parking lot, that she wasn’t only asking him in…
She was asking him up.
Outside the windshield, she mentally counted the steps leading to her cozy top-floor apartment. Her heart sank. To Eli, the flight must look a mile long.
The engine died when Eli turned the key and the only sounds in the car were her own heartbeat and their quiet breaths.
“Sable.”
“I know. I didn’t even think about it when I suggested we come here.” She hazarded a glance over at him to find his eyebrows lowered. “We can go to your place. I don’t expect you to compromise.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The stairs.” She pointed needlessly. “There are a thousand stairs leading to my front door.”
He glanced out the window, then back at her. “I see that.”
“But you can’t…or maybe you don’t want to—”
“If you’re having second thoughts, just say it.” His tone was clipped.
Her heart hammered. From excitement or nerves? Isa hadn’t had sex in three years. Three. Years. When she looked at Eli, there wasn’t a single part of her that didn’t want to explore what was between them.
Unless things went beyond sex.
She’d thought Josh had been emotionally unavailable—and he had—but Eli Crane took the proverbial cake. She’d had her first date in forever with a stubborn, closed-off Marine, for God’s sake. Sex would be amazing if his kiss would be anything to go by, but what about after? How would she continue to see him or work for him? How messy would things get if she were dating the epitome of Mr. Emotionally Unavailable?
True, Isa was strong and brave. But a relationship with Eli would test both those limits. She didn’t know if she was ready to put herself in a position of such vulnerability—not yet.
This was a mistake.
“Sable—”
“You know what? I’m going to go. I’ll see you Monday.” She flashed a quick smile and climbed from the car, shutting the door behind her before he could say another word. Not that he did. The last visual she had of him was his frowning mouth and crinkled brow. A peek back at his car from the staircase didn’t reveal more than a dark, reflective windshield.
Who knew what he was thinking right now?
All she knew was that the timing was wrong. Or…not the timing, but something. Something was off.
She’d done the right thing.
For her future. For her heart.
