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“The pumpkin flies at midnight.”
I can’t help a snort. “What?”
“I don’t know. I heard my sister say it once and it’s been haunting me ever since.”
“What does it mean?”
“No idea.” His weak smile hurts as he lowers his gaze again. “I should probably go.”
“Val… please.”
“It’s okay. I get it.”
“You don’t! Clearly you don’t.”
His eyes land on mine again, soft and open with everything I love about him. He’s always so beautiful and kind, despite the pain he wrestles with inside. I hate that I’m the reason he’s hurting right now.
“I do. We live in different worlds with different rules,” he says. “I’m not mad. I will always support you and be here for you no matter who you choose or what?—”
I jump up and capture his face in my hands. He tenses, but I don’t let go. I can’t. The only time I truly feel like myself is when we’re together.
“It’s you,” I whisper. “It’s just you.”
When I kiss him, it only takes a second for the fire between us to burn away the obstacles. After shoving the laptop on the table, he tangles his fingers in my hair and tilts my head to deepen the connection. I can’t stop the slight moan at how good it feels to have him again. I wasn’t lying. I would give up everything for this man, and the fact that he would never ask that of me is just more of a testament to the treasure I’m holding.
I slide one hand up his neck as the other grasps the messy locks I’ve been craving since the last time he was mine. Our mouths melt together, our bodies sliding and locking in all the right places. I’m desperate to drag him back to the couch and show him how much I want him.
He runs his palms down my back, guiding my front into an aching collision with his. Our kiss becomes ravenous as my insides buzz with pent-up electricity. I need to feel his bare skin on mine, to explore more of him—all of him—and I grip the hem of his shirt to strip it off. But he stops me with a gentle hold on my wrist.
My disappointment fades at the tender expression on his face.
“Talk to Jarvis,” he says, framing my cheek with his other hand. “Take time to figure out what you really want. The stakes are too high to rush into anything.”
I know what I want. I literally have it in my hands, but he’s right. This is too important to mess up, and it’s not fair of me to ask him to ignore the fact that I’m formally engaged to someone else.
After one last kiss, I rest my cheek on his shoulder and burrow into his warmth. He locks his arms around me and presses his lips to my head. If I could stay here forever, I would.
“I’ll talk to Jarvis again and make sure he understands,” I murmur. “I promise I’m going to fix this. I want you, just you. Will you please forgive me and still be my secret boyfriend?”
I feel his sharp inhale at my words. The long silence has my heart pounding. After way too many seconds, he sighs and drops another soft kiss on my hair.
“Talk to Jarvis, then we’ll discuss the rest.”
8—DALLAS (JARVIS’ DRESSING ROOM)
VAL
These are the factors that led to me being alone with Chad in Jarvis’ dressing room:
I left Larinda’s dressing room reeling and completely lacking presence of mind.
Chad decided he forgave me for possibly being a spy and needed my help with an exceedingly important project.
