Page 64 of My December Darling

Fingers crossed.

18

CATALINA

Iswore to avoid Luke as much as possible after him not showing up, but then he texted me and explained his situation. Once he opened up to me about losing his patient, I couldn’t hold his absence against him.

He brings out my sensitive side. A side that I’ve been cautious about exploring because I’m afraid of what I might uncover.

Terrified is more like it.

Despite my fears, I decide to hang out with Luke in his apartment anyway, obliterating my self-imposed vow to only see him at wedding events until I move away. I tell myself I’m only doing this out of pity, but deep down, I know it’s more than that, although I refuse to acknowledge it.

We spend the first hour working on my speech while eating dinner before moving to the living room to work on the LEGO set. Aiden popped in to say goodbye before his shift at the hospital and didn’t bat an eye at the two of us hanging out, which makes me feel better about the situation.

Or as good as I can feel about being interested in a guy who I plan on leaving.

Spending time together feels like the most natural thing in the world, although it becomes progressively more difficult to ignore the growing sexual tension between us. My breath seems to hitch whenever I catch Luke looking at me, and there is a comfortable tingle that rushes down my spine whenever our hands graze.

The reactions are uncontrollable, and they aren’t anything I should feel embarrassed over, but that isn’t my problem. It’s the fact I’m already looking forward to the next time we can hang out, even if it’s us meeting up in the break room at the hospital for some coffee.

Luke’s eyes drop to my mouth for the third time in the last five minutes, and I wipe at the corners self-consciously. His brows pull together before he looks away.

“What?” I stupidly ask.

“Nothing.”

“Sure about that?”

“Yes.” A muscle in his jaw ticks.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

“I made a promise,” he says with a low voice.

“Oh.” My mouth falls open.

He wants to kiss you.

My heart thuds in my chest, the beats quickening as I remember the kiss we shared two nights ago.

“Disappointed?” he asks.

“Nope.” I look away.

He leans in and presses his mouth against my ear. “I might have made a promise, but no one saidyoucan’t kissme.”

I shudder. “We shouldn’t.”

The tips of his fingers brush across my cheek before he tucks them beneath my chin. “Why are you fighting this?”

Because I’m scared.

Our eyes lock, and it seems like he reads my mind when he asks, “Is there anything I can do to make it easier?”

I exhale a shaky breath. “Just…give me time.”

He drops a kiss on the top of my head before pulling away. “I can do that.” He exhales. “Even if it might kill me in the process.”

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