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“Just a few seconds more. Let me be greedy. I doubt anyone will come to the kitchen before the dishes are done. They’d feel obligated to help.” Her hands moved on his back, sending pleasurable chills throughout his whole body.
She felt so right cuddled against him, the way nothing and no one ever had. Before, he had been a tree unable to put down roots, and he thought it was because of his dual nature. He was meant to live in the skies, not to forge connections on the ground.
That…no longer felt true.
For a few moments, Eli reveled in the hug, breathing her in. This much was fine. Soon, he’d figure out how to tell her the truth, before things got more complicated. And then she kissed him.
The world melted away.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Some kisses were fireworks.
Some were spiky aliens with lizard tongues, and others were summer nights by the ocean with sand between the toes. This one? It was the chill of an autumn night warmed by the sweetness of hot cocoa. It was soft and shy with a slowly building heat that felt like a roaring fire by the time Iris pulled back, breathless, to peer up at Eli.
He was smiling slightly, gazing at her with such affection that she felt a bit silly for not having noticed how much he cared before. Those are the eyes of a man who—
Okay, maybe notthatL word. A man who likes me. A lot. How’s that?
“Limited PDA, huh?” Then he did pull away, resuming the kitchen work with a haste she found mildly unsettling.
Maybe he’s worried about getting caught.If she was smart, she’d share that concern because the last thing she wanted to do was make anyone else uncomfortable. She’d never been in this situation before, so she couldn’t say what the etiquette was. In other roommate situations, the rules had been “Partners shouldstay no more than two consecutive nights and no more than seven nights a month total” and “Don’t wake anyone up with your nocturnal doings.” Since they lived together, the first rule didn’t apply, but the second made sense. If she got teased by Sally the morning after—
“Oh God,” she mumbled.
“Wow, you’re really pink,” Eli noted.
Despite being flustered, Iris decided to continue drying dishes and keep him company. “Are you selling the house soon? Keshonda said it was your grandma’s place.”
“Sales often don’t happen fast, even after the offer. The process takes time.”
“What will you do when everything is settled?” she asked.
It had been a couple of months already, so he only had a month left on his three-month rental agreement. She’d never bought a house, just inherited this one, but she knew there were usually terms like thirty or sixty days to close. But since he was out of the house already, the buyers could move in right away. Once the papers were signed, he could go.
Damn. He might go.
“I’m not sure yet.”
Yeah, that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. But one kiss didn’t make a relationship.
And she had no clue where to go from here, because if she said something noncommittal, he’d probably sense her disappointment. Yet Iris was fully aware that she had no cause to feel that way. No promises had been made.
Changing the subject seemed like the best idea rather thanput weighty expectations on him when he hadn’t suggested they become official after she kissed him. “By the way, my store is doing a lot better. I’ve been using all the techniques and strategies you taught me. Views and orders are way up. Rowan’s helping with the shipments.”
“I knew you’d do amazing,” he said.
And his tone bothered her; there was a finality and a sadness in it, as if he had some bad news to impart, but he hadn’t figured out how yet.Shit, he’s not sick, is he?That…would explain a lot. His reluctance to let people close, the way he chose not to make major decisions or long-term plans… She gazed at him, wide-eyed.
What would I do if that’s true?
And then suddenly, it was crystal clear. It didn’t matter. Not to her. If he had two months, a year, two? Then she’d want to be with him. Life didn’t come with any guarantees, after all. She’d rather be with Eli than look for someone else. Her “mother” would say this was just more of her romantic nonsense, utterly divorced from reality, but that only made Iris more certain.
In that moment, all her doubts disappeared.
“It doesn’t matter,” she told him.
Eli blinked. “What doesn’t? Never mind that for a sec. I have to tell you something.”
