Page 117 of Playing Flirty

A red-haired man with black-rimmed glasses stood. “William’s not here. He left about fifteen minutes ago.”

“Where did he go?” I chewed on my lip in discomfort.

He shrugged. “Something about seeing a girl.”

Oh.

“Are you Rose?”

I nodded, and the man grinned, his cheeks reddening. “He left to see you.”

“Me? Are you sure?” My voice caught, and I curled my socked toes into their office rug.

He and a few others exchanged looks. “You’re all we’ve heard about for the last few months.”

Stunned and a little confused, I thanked the group of gamers and snuck out of the building, trying to keep myself together. Marching back to the car in a daze, I climbed in and reached for my phone.

A single text awaited me:

Neema:Come home. Now. He’s here.

My heart pounded in my chest as though it might break through to get home sooner. I put the car in gear and drove home.

To William.

When I reached my apartment, it was quieter than I’d imagined it would be. I expected the same madness of activity the apartment had seen the last few days. I’d anticipated the glitter. I’d prepared for ribbons.

But there was no part of me that had predicted I’d find William sitting alone on my couch with a laptop.

I stepped inside the apartment, and he jumped to his feet. Tossing the laptop aside, he straightened his black jeans, and I couldn’t help but notice the elvish scribble across his black T-shirt.

And there wasn’t a part of me that doubted it anymore. William was Gandalf. What felt like a lifetime had passed, but as I stood there in the same outfit, I could see him. I could see his dark eyes, his playful smile. I could feel the tether between us. Then and now.

A wide and slightly confused grin appeared on his face as he took in my clothing.

“I remember,” I choked out, frozen in the open doorway. “I remember.”

William’s mouth parted, and he took three quick steps, closing the space between us. His hand slipped under my chin and tilted it upward to meet his gaze. His breath came out in quick rasps. “Can I kiss you?”

My face barely broke into a smile before his mouth crashed into mine and I melted against him. His hands slid around my waist with ease, lifting me up off the ground and pulling me into his chest, where I could feel his heart raging against mine.

“Rose,” he choked out as he broke the kiss.

Hearing him say my name breathed life into me. One syllable. A common name. But on his lips, it was magic.

“William, I remember, I remember.” I kept repeating it over and over as though his roaming hands weren’t letting me know that he’d heard. Now I remembered everything. “That’s why you called me ‘hobbit’ when we first met,” I said, inhaling and allowing oxygen to compete with the fluttering in my chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Releasing me, he blew out a breath before spinning around and sliding his hand into his pocket. Straightening his shoulders, he turned back toward me clutching a small transparent bag in his fist.

Discomfort and uncertainty stretched over his features. “I wanted to tell you. There were so many times I wanted to tell you, but I’d waited so long I didn’t know how, and it became this big thing that I panicked about all the time…”

I clawed open his fingers and removed the little bag, glancing at the thing inside.

My heart stopped and then raced in my chest, knocking the air out of me.

Every part of me recognized the thing I now held in my palm.

A heart marker. My heart marker.

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