Page 207 of Time Stops With You

“You said you were going to love me until your last heartbeat,” Nardi pointed out. “Did you not mean it?”

A lump forms in my throat.

But I lie to her, “I was caught up in a moment, but that moment is over.”

She purses her lips thoughtfully.

With a resigned sigh, I hold my hand out. “Give the marriage papers to me.”

“No.”

“We’re not going to get married,” I say firmly. The words burn, but I don’t take them back. They must be said. “It was wrong of me to ask you to do that. It was wrong of me to mess with your life.”

“Wrong by your definition. Not mine.”

I tilt my head to the side, my eyebrows scrunched.

Nardi smiles sadly. “I’m aware that my mom went to visit you sometime over the past few days. I know she told you to crawl off and die anywhere other than in front of me.”

“That’s not what she said.” I frown.

“But that was the gist of it.” Nardi struts away and tosses the words over her shoulder as she goes, “Do you have an extra toothbrush? I didn’t bring any.”

A stunned breath escapes my lips. I knew Nardi was stubborn, but I didn’t realize she wasthisstubborn.

I chase her down, realizing that snarling won’t work. Instead, I try to reason with her. “Your mom is only trying to protect you. And she’s right. You and I are better off parting ways now than later.”

“Is it my mom’s name on the marriage certificate?” Nardi pauses just before pushing my bedroom door open. Her eyes are thrown into shadows, but I can sense the sarcasm when she says, “Because you’re having tons of important discussions with a woman who’s not married to you. That doesn’t make sense to me.”

“We’renotgetting married,” I grumble.

She ignores me and pushes the door open, stepping into my room. There’s not much to see. Only a bed, neatly spread. A nightstand. A lamp. A dresser for my clothes.

“I guess you like the minimalist aesthetic,” Nardi says, gesturing to the bare walls. “There’s not even a painting, Cullen.”

Too frustrated to reply, I follow her into my walk in closet that I use as storage space for my in-repair CPU units. I wear thesame grey and black T-shirts and jeans every day, so I don’t need so much space for clothes.

Nardi’s eyes widen when she sees all the broken parts. “What is this? A computer graveyard? Oh, look.” Her dismay turns into a wide smile. “Your beanie collection. But why is it in a bin? You should have it hanging out on display. It’ll be easier to decide on which color to wear.”

When she spins around to leave the closet, I block her path. Nardi tilts her head back to meet my eyes. Her eyelashes bounce slowly up and down.

“Leave before I pick you up and throw you out myself,” I warn.

“You’re not going to do that, Cullen,” she whispers, stepping into me.

I shuffle back as warning signs flash through my mind.

Nardi glides forward, her brown skin glowing and her eyes dropping to half-mast. I hear the thundering of my heart loudly in my ears.

“I saw the documents you left for me. And I’m pretty sure this property agreement was in there as well.” She advances slowly, her hips swaying from side to side.

My throat dry, I take another step back, but my calves hit the bed frame and I lose my balance. The world tilts as gravity pulls on me. I land on the bed, barely managing to prop myself up on my elbows.

The mattress bounces again as Nardi gets on the bed too. She pushes my shoulders so I tip all the way back. I’m flat out and staring at the ceiling. A moment later, she crawls over me.

I try to roll away, but she slams one hand on the pillow next to my face.

Her breath teases my cheek.

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