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“You okay?” he asked her. His hair was mussed, his jeans and t-shirt crumpled. He’d put on last night’s clothes to run down and join Josh, and it showed.
“I’m fine. You?”
“I am now.” He held out his arms for her.
She stepped into them, feeling the breath escape her lips as he folded his arms around her, pulling her close. She rested her face on his chest, and he softly stroked her hair.
“Is he going to tell anybody?” she asked.
“No. He’s just worried about us both.”
She looked up at him, relief flooding through her body. “That’s good, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”
She looped her arms around his neck, rolling to her feet for a kiss. His mouth was soft, slow. It felt like a kiss they both needed.
“So what do we do now?” she asked him when they parted.
“Now I get in the shower, get ready, and we go out like we planned to. Then you’ll drive home and I’ll be back tomorrow and I guess we need to talk about what we want to do after that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Josh is just the start. People are going to find out. It’s a matter of when, not if.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “Unless you want us to stop this thing. In which case Josh has promised he’ll never say a word.”
“Do you want to stop?” she whispered. Her heart was racing again. The thought of walking away from him, of never feeling the way she did when she was in his arms, was like a physical pain.
“No.” His voice was strong and sure. “I don’t want to and I don’t think I could stop if I did.”
Oh. Her chest loosened. This man was killing her in all the best kinds of ways. “So we tell people?”
“When we’re ready, yeah. I just want to make sure Mom is stronger first.”
That made sense. The thought of dropping a bombshell when his mom was sick felt wrong. “And then what?” she asked him. “We do the long distance thing when you go back to London?”
“I don’t think either of us would want to do that for long. I’ve been thinking about going back soon. Seeing if I can sell the business.”
She looked at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s been on my mind for a while. Being back… being with my parents. With you.” He gave her a half smile. “I like it here.”
“You want to stay in Hartson’s Creek?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but not if that’s going to cause you problems.”
“Why would it cause me problems?” Her heart was pounding against her chest. This was what she wanted. “You seemed set against it last night.”
“I needed to think things through. And I don’t want to put any pressure on you.” His eyes caught hers. “You’re still young.”
“Shut up, old man.”
He laughed. “You might not feel the same way I do.”
“How do you feel?” she asked softly.
“I love you.”
Oh. This time it felt like her heart was flying out of her chest. “I love you too.”
