Page 40 of Waiting to Love You

“Hello, Seth,” they all respond in unison, causing me to roll my eyes.

“What are you? Charlie’s Angels?” I grumble before walking past him and out the door. “I thought you said you’d be an hour?”

Seth smiles sheepishly at me, his eyes darting between my friends. “I really wanted to see you, so I asked Vance if I could head out a little early.”

“He’s so adorable,” Audrey squeals, clutching her hands to her chest.

“Why don’t we eat outside? It’s a nice day.

“Sounds good to me.” Seth smiles as he places a hand on the small of my back, leading me toward Just the Drip. “I’m sure they won’t mind us stealing a table.”

I smile up at him before motioning toward the bag in his left hand with my chin. “It’s still pretty early, and you did already buy us sandwiches.”

“Thanks for having lunch with me today.” The deep baritone in his voice soothes the ache in my heart as he steps beside me, bumping my shoulder. “I missed you.”

“Thanks,” I say awkwardly and wince.

Of all the ways I could’ve said, I chose that one? I don’t know what it is about Seth that fries my brain. I’m usually more articulate and have my wits about me. I have to, especially with a little girl to take care of. But with Seth, all my responsibilities fade into the background and so do most of my brain cells.

“I mean it, you know.” He sighs, tipping his head up toward the sky. “I don’t say things I don’t mean. If I tell you that instead of lunch, I’d love nothing more than to throw you over my shoulder, carry you back to your house like a caveman, and show you how much I want you to belong to me, I mean it.”

I freeze, and my eyes widen in surprise as he takes a step closer to me, his scent enveloping me and drawing me closer to him. I would love nothing more than to give in to the urge to raise up on my toes and allow him to wrap me in his warm embrace and bury my nose in his chest.

“But I won’t, because I need you to trust me. I need you to know that I want so much more from you than just a quick fuck. I want everything.”

“How do you know I don’t trust you?” I try to act nonchalant about it, but I know deep in my soul he’s right.

If I trusted him, I would’ve already told him about our daughter. I wouldn’t still be keeping this secret from him. I also would know exactly how I feel about him, no longer allowing my fears to have a vise grip around my heart that tightens every time he tells me how he feels. I want to believe him; I do, but there’s a piece of me that wonders if he truly means it.

“It’s your eyes,” Seth cups my cheek in this palm. “I can see that you’re holding something back from me. A piece of yourself you want to protect from being hurt. I can see it in the way you move around me, the way your smile doesn’t always reach your eyes, but I’m not giving up on you or us. I have faith that someday soon you’ll understand the depth of my feelings for you.”

Fuck me. No one besides my mom can read me that well, especially someone I barely know, but he sees it all just by looking into my eyes. His words have stripped me bare, showing the deepest parts of my soul to a stranger, and that’s terrifying.

“Don’t be scared, Bri.” Seth leans forward, running his hand along my arm and threading his fingers through mine.

“Okay.” My breath hitches slightly as he leans forward and brushes his lips against mine.

I’m lost in his eyes as we stare at each other. The magnetic pull between us grows stronger as my gaze flicks back and forth between his lips and eyes.

“You’re a dangerous creature, Seth.” I groan as he steps away from me and pulls me toward an empty table.

He pulls a chair out for me, and I take a seat, my eyes locked on him as he makes his way around the table and sits. I peer at him, discreetly checking him out. Seth looks pretty much the same as he did when we first met. His eyes are still the same warm chocolate brown color, although he’s slightly more muscular than he was. His smile still makes my insides melt just a little when it’s directed at me. His voice still wraps around me like a warm blanket, making me feel safe and protected.

And still the exact opposite of me. On the outside, I hope I portray the picture of calm, cool, and collected, but inside, I’m a jumble of nerves, barely hanging on by a thread. I need to keep my wits about me when I’m around him. But that nagging voice in the back of my head keeps reminding me I’m keeping a secret from him. A secret that could ruin everything.

“Are you listening to me?” Seth chuckles, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on the tip of my nose.

A shiver runs down my spine as our lips connect, his hand sliding down my arm, before he winks at me and places a sandwich on the table in front of me.

“Since you weren’t listening, you get the turkey and cheese.”

“Okay.” My cheeks heat as I drop my head, not wanting to see the smug look on his face as I unwrap my sandwich and take a bite.

“How many more classes do you have today?”

“One. Today is Audrey’s half day at the studio.”

“So, you schedule a lighter class load so you can get out earlier?”

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