Page 102 of Look, Don't Touch

“I wasn’t until I saw you.” I give him a wink.

He laughs and shoos me on.

There’s a table on a stone patio in the corner that I hadn’t noticed last time. It’s filled with platters of eggs, croissants, fruit, and a sautéed spinach concoction with caramelized onions and tomato. “My mouth is watering.”

“So is mine.” He purrs against my ear. His chest is against my back. He deposits the carafes over my shoulders and onto the table. His thick arm wraps around my left side. He pulls me in close and buries his face in my hair. His inhale is hearty. I melt into his touch.

Too soon, he releases me and pulls out a chair. I sit, and he does the same—not across from me but next to me. He grabs my empty plate. “Anything you don’t want?”

Right this second, I want it all…with him. My throat goes tight. I smile and shake my head. There’s water, milk, and juice. I take a deep gulp of black coffee and can finally speak. “Would you like juice?”

He smiles and nods. When he finishes with my plate, he loads his.

I fill his cup and set it in front of his plate. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

We’re both smiling like idiots. My face hurts.

“I’ve never done this before,” I blurt because I apparently can’t stop it in his presence.

“Me either.” He shoves a bite of food in his mouth and chews with a grin.

“Doesn’t it scare you?”

“It used to,” he admits.

“And now?”

He pulls a piece of croissant apart, dips it into a chocolate sauce, and holds it out to me. “You’re a badass, Hailey, but I’m not scared of you.” I open, and he places the food in my mouth, swiping his thumb across my lower lip.

“What scares you?”

His shoulders go back, and he looks me dead in the eyes. “You learning all my truths and not being able to accept them. You never sharing yours with me. You never letting me in. Me being too open and direct with you and scaring you away.”

What truths? What if I never trust myself enough to let him in, and then I lose him? What if he scares me away? I’m like a skittish deer when it comes to the thought of a relationship, much less the act of one.

My heart goes into arrhythmia. My stomach drops.

He grabs the edge of my chair and pulls me close until our legs and the edges of our chairs touch. The frantic beats in my chest stop, replaced with a gentle flutter. My belly calms to a manageable dip.

I blow out a deep breath.

“For now.” He pulls my plate in front of me. “Let’s eat and let the rest fall where it may.”

“Okay.” I do as I’m told, scarfing the delicious meal in a most unladylike fashion. Arlo doesn’t seem to notice. He’s ravenous as well. “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you last night.”

“Don’t be. I got to watch you sleep without being called a stalker since you were in my bed.” His smirk is washed away by another forkful of eggs.

“Your bed is so comfortable.” I reach out and put my hand on his knee, testing his endurance for my touch when it’s not sexual. “How did you sleep with someone else in it?”

He wraps his foot round my ankle and chomps on a strawberry. “Surprisingly, better than usual.” His heavy shoulder bobs. “Going to sleep was hard. You’re too interesting to look at.”

I laugh. “Yeah, with my wild hair going every which way. Very interesting.”

“Your natural hair and makeup-free face are beautiful. Do you ever wear them out into the world?”

I look at him as though his head just fell off his shoulders.

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