Page 59 of Wish You Would

And I didn’t want to.

Not yet, anyway.

I’d save that for Tomorrow Parker.

Tonight Parker wanted only to lay in Gigi’s arms, to bask in the fire of her gaze. For as long as I could. Until the real world came calling. For now, it could wait.

I sighed and sank deeper into the pillows. “I’m not sleeping.” I arched into her, new aches making themselves known. “Though, you couldn’t blame me if I was a little tired.”

She hummed, and it was filled with such self-satisfaction I had to roll onto my back to see her face. The grin curving her lips—lips I now knew intimately—echoed the sentiments of her hum. “What?” She widened her eyes as if to play innocent. “Can you blame me if I’m a little proud of myself?”

I laughed and pulled her face to mine. “No.” I planted a kiss on her lips. “I cannot.”

She kissed me back, drawing it out with slow strokes of her tongue, wringing a whimper from my throat. I felt her smile and I planted my hands on her shoulders, pushing her away. “Are you gonna always be this insufferable now?” I asked, even as another laugh tumbled from me.

“Here’s the thing.” She tucked the sheet around my naked chest and smoothing my hair back. “You did not see how gorgeous you looked as you came.” Her thumb stroked my bottom lip, eyes lingering there. “You did not feel how tight you were around my fingers. You didn’t taste—”

“Okay, okay.” I put a finger to her lips, face burning even hotter. “Point taken. Although…” My eyes dropped to her mouth, heart stuttering in my chest. “I’d like to experience all those things. You know…when I…I mean…”

She kissed my fingertip, bringing my fumbling to a halt. Then, she pulled my hand away from her mouth and held it in hers. “We’ll get there.”

My gaze snagged on hers, and I searched the deep brown pools. For what, I wasn’t sure? Disappointment? Frustration? But what I found there was something much more earth-shattering.

Wonder.

She was looking at me with such wonder in her eyes. As if she couldn’t believe I was really here. As if she’d blink and I’d be gone.

My heart swelled. I nodded, unable to gather words to respond. She nodded, too, placing my palm against her chest.

We stayed like that for a few quiet seconds, her heart beating beneath my hand, quick and erratic, until she broke the trance. Dropping her gaze, she swallowed, the sound audible in the quiet room. Her thumb traced a path over the back of my hand, back and forth, back and forth, as she watched it.

“Hey,” I whispered, flipping my hand over to take her fingers in mine. “Is something wrong?”

She glanced up and smiled, but it was fleeting. “No, no.” She looked back down.

I sat up, tucking the sheet around my chest. Panic flooded my veins, whooshing in my ears. “Gigi.”

Something in my tone must have alerted her to my alarm. Eyes shooting to mine, she sat up, too. “No, really.” She placed a hand on my arm. “Everything’s fine. I promise. I just—”

“Tell me.”

She sighed, a defeated sound. “What happened with Halle?” She wound her fingers together in her lap and fixed her eyes on them. “You were on a date with her, and then you were on the sidewalk outside the bar, and then we were here, and…” She shrugged and glanced up. “I don’t know. Maybe I don’t need to know. I just…want to know.”

“Oh.” I scooted up on the bed and rested against the headboard, tucking the blankets around me.

It was a fair question. More than fair, really. Honestly, I was surprised we hadn’t talked about it yet. But now? After…after? It felt like a splash of frigid water on my naked, sensitive skin.

I wasn’t thinking of Halle. I hadn’t thought of Halle since I crashed into Gigi outside of Heathcliff’s. Since before that.

But she didn’t know that.

She watched, face unreadable, each furrow in her brow tangling knots in my gut.

So, yeah. It was a fair question.

“The date was fine,” I started, pulling a lock of hair over my shoulder. Gigi’s eyes followed the action. “Perfectly lovely, really.” I twisted the lock as my mind replayed this evening.

Halle had been at the restaurant when I arrived, she’d pulled my chair out for me, complimented my outfit. The conversation was easy and fun. Not a single complaint. Not a single reason to object.

---