Page 22 of We'll Meet Again

“How can you -”

She didn’t get to finish her question before Tessa returned. The tension hung around them like a fog, but she seemed none the wiser as she resumed her seat.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Mam had a question about her new bluetooth earbuds.” She looked at Ethan. “Parents, am I right?”

A shadow of melancholy passed over his face - so quickly, Billie was sure if she blinked, she would have missed it.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said.

“So, where were we?” Tessa asked, but answered before anyone else could. “Oh, right. Billie can’t cook.”

Grateful for the change of subject, Billie rolled her eyes. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Anytime,” Tessa said with a cheeky grin.

Dinner carried on casually enough, and Billie tried to put that moment with Ethan out of her mind. How could he not be scared by those feelings? What did it mean for him? And how did he want to get to know her? The way he looked at her didn’t suggest friendship. And she had never been so attracted to a friend before in return.

After dinner, Ethan insisted that he help clean up. Tessa and Billie had an arrangement that the latter would clean since the former did all the cooking. So it was Tessa’s turn to enjoy a beverage at the table while the other two worked. However, she didn’t remain at the table long. After Billie put away the plates, she started to ask her flatmate a question, only to find the table totally vacant. Without a word, Tessa had just slipped out.

“Now that is an authentic Irish exit,” Ethan said.

Billie snorted. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. It shouldn’t have been funny - the joke was corny. Bordering on a dad joke. But somehow, with his drawl, it was amusing. She shook it off and returned to her task, putting the wine glasses back in the cabinet.

Pushing herself up onto her toes, she stretched to reach the top shelf. But unfortunately for her, she overestimated her ability to put them both away at once. One slipped from her grasp. Before she could even cry out, a large hand - Ethan’s hand - caught it out of the air. She whirled around, holding the remaining wine class close to her while she took a deep breath to ease the panic that had sent her heart rate into a frenzy.

“Let me do this,” he said.

She opened her eyes to meet his. “I can -”

“Please,” he cut across her. “I don’t have to work so hard.”

There was no denying that. Ethan was almost a head taller than her. All he would have to do is raise his arm, and he would be able to reach the shelf. With a defiant huff, she held out the wine glass in her hand. From where he stood, he leaned forward and reached up.

Billie sucked in a breath. He was so close to her now. She could smell his warm, earthy scent and feel the heat from his body. His chest was right in front of her face. Why was she suddenly desperate to rest her head there? A flush rose to her cheeks as images of him this close to her - on top of her - came flooding to the front of her mind. She wanted to run her hands over that chest and feel the firmness of his muscles there. She wanted to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale that wonderful smell. She wanted to feel the weight of him around her and -

“There,” he said, and took a step back.

She held back a whimper of protest at the loss of his warmth. Her body shivered in spite of her effort to keep still.

“Thanks,” she said stiffly.

“No problem,” he returned, and she was certain that smile would be the death of her if she let it.

Clearing her throat, she checked her watch. “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah, I should be getting home,” he agreed. “But, uh…thanks for a great evening. I feel very welcomed.”

“Well, that’s what Tessa wanted,” she said. Perhaps without their buffer physically in the room, mentioning her would be as effective.

He looked meaningfully at her. “She’s very kind.”

Billie swallowed through the dryness in her throat. “I’ll show you out.”

She turned on her heel and left before he could say anything else. Thankfully, Tessa was only in the living room, and she got to her feet when Billie and Ethan emerged.

“Kitchen’s in order?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan answered with a mock salute.

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