Page 55 of This Thing of Ours

He raised a brow but didn’t say anything, just kept his eyes trained on her. She felt her blood heat, her nerves tingle, and her pulse race at his intense gaze. She took an involuntary step forward as if some invisible line pulled her to him. He stood, the movement fluid, causing more heat to fill her.

Was it crazy she found just the way he moved hot?

Like a big, black panther, he prowled toward her. And she’d never felt more like prey. His eyes, already dark, were almost black as they raked over her features, only stopping when they landed on her lips. He licked his, his tongue barely peeking out to touch the top one.

She cleared her throat. “We should get going, or we’ll be late.” And there were those darn nerves, acting up again.

His lips tipped up. “They play lots of previews.”

That was true. But still… “I want popcorn.”

He took the last step forward, so close his chest brushed hers, and she needed to tip her head back to keep him in sight. “Pretty sure the concession stand doesn’t close as soon as the movie starts.”

That was true, too. “So, does that mean we’re going to be late?”

“Might be.”

“Might?”

“Uh-huh.” He took an impossible step closer, tipped his head down, bringing his face so close, their noses touched. “Depends on how long it takes for you to kiss me.”

As it hadn’ttaken her long to kiss him, they arrived at the theater right on time. And by that, she meant, after Marco equipped her with popcorn and a soda, the previews were over, and the movie was about to start.

Marco insisted they sit in the back row. She almost laughed at that peculiarity until she realized why—he didn’t want anyone at hisback. And thewhyof that was sobering.

Settling into their seats, she placed the extra-large tub of popcorn on her lap and the soda in the cup holder on the opposite armrest she shared with Marco.

“You eat all that, you gonna have room for dinner?” he whispered in her ear.

“Probably not.”

“I’d better help you, then.” He reached into the bucket and grabbed a handful.

“Hey.” She slapped his hand. “If you wanted some, you should have bought your own.”

“I figured with the amount you got, we could share.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” she said, hugging the tub protectively.

It was hard to see his face clearly in the darkened theater, but she was pretty sure he raised a brow. “So, I guess that means I don’t need to share any of these?” He scooted down in his seat, stretching a leg straight to reach into his pants pocket and pulled out a king-size box of Junior Mints.

She loved Junior Mints! She eyed him suspiciously. “When did you get those?”

“When you went to the bathroom.”

“So, before I got my popcorn? And you’ve been hiding them this whole time. You weren’t going to share?”

“Well, I was. I figured we’d have them after the popcorn, but that was before I discovered how stingy you are.”

“Do you twomindbeing quiet?”

Turning her head toward the anonymous voice, she connected it to some guy glaring their direction from two rows in front of them. Her eyes darted up, and she noticed the movie had already started. They hadn’t been talking loudly, but they had been talking, and that was rude.

She was about to apologize, when Marco said, “You wanna mind your own business?”

Gabby placed a hand on his arm and whispered, “We were in the wrong. Just let it go.”

And she knew he was going to. She saw it in the softening of his expression.

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