Page 45 of My Promise To Keep

He smiles as he towels off his hair and follows me into my kitchen.

‘Can I get you anything, a drink, a sandwich?’

Leo smirks and shakes his head. ‘Nah, I’m good.’

Silence falls between us for a moment, and he continues looking around with an expression of contentment on his face. He looks different somehow, older, maybe. I know that he is — every person is older each time you see them, right? And that’s without weeks or more in between, but he’s got a different way about him.

He’s as sexy as ever, too, his dark hair cropped short, his olive skin glowing with an obvious tan. I push aside the passing thought of him shirtless in the summer sun and focus on him as his smiling eyes meet mine.

He takes a breath and points to the dining table. ‘Can we sit?’

I nod, and we both take a seat. My hands drop to my knees as I wait, but he doesn’t say anything.

‘Leo.’ He turns to me. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Zoe—’ He exhales again, then reaches out for my hands, leaning forward to hold them where they are. ‘I missed you, munch. I hated the distance between us since everything happened. When I saw you on that date, I fucking hated it, Zo. I hated it so much it drove me insane.’ He hangs his head and my heart pounds in my chest.

‘I acted like an asshole, and when you walked away from me, I knew I had so much work to do. I didn’t know if you would ever let me back into your life, but I knew I had to find a way to show you that I was serious about us, and I am. I’ve never been more serious about anything, Zoe. Seeing you in the club that night, the way you were dancing on the table without a care in the world, munch, I don’t want to be just another guy watching you dance. I want to be the man dancing with you. Knowing you didn’t want me near you that night, feeling that you didn’t want me to talk to you, it hurt like a bitch, Zoe. I don’t just want you in my life. I need you by my side. Munch, go out with me. Please.’

My lips part, and words try to come out, but nothing does.

‘On a date, munch. A real date, wherever you want, whenever you want. I don’t care as long as it’s me and you.’

‘Leo, I...’ My throat tightens, my hand rising to feel the skin there. My skin heats, and my heart races as I feel the bob of my throat under my fingertips. I didn’t have chance to prepare for this.

He inhales deeply, then gets off his chair and drops to his knees in front of me, pushing my knees apart and positioning himself between them. I can’t think as he reaches up to my cheek and looks into my soul with so much sincerity in his eyes.

‘I want to date you, Zoe. I want to be with you.’

‘Leo.’ I sigh, and he shrugs.

‘I’m serious.’

‘No,’ I say the word so softly, but he hears it. He drops back on his heels as his shoulders lower, and his voice softens.

‘What are you scared of?’

‘Everything. Loving you, losing you. What our family will think. Wanting different things. Take your pick, Leo.’

‘Munch.’

‘We can’t do this. We’re too connected. We have shared our whole lives.’

‘Explain your hesitation to me, honey, because I know you feel this too.’

He takes my hands again, and the electricity between us jolts my heart. I do feel it. I have felt it for so long now. His soft tone makes me close my eyes for a moment. I want this, but I can’t. The idea of saying yes to him, giving him my heart, feels like leaving a crystal vase on the freeway: the outcome is inevitable and shattering.

‘We are family,’ I start. ‘I don’t mean that in a way that makes it creepy.’ He huffs out a laugh. ‘But I don’t remember a day of my life without you in here.’ I tap my finger against my temple. ‘We spend Thanksgiving together, Christmas, New Year,Birthdays, the fair. I married Luke.’ His brows knit together a little, but he stays quiet. ‘The idea of them, especially Buck, thinking we’ve betrayed him hurts like hell.’

‘Zo…’

‘And if we did this, and it didn’t work, it would impact them too.’

‘We’ll work,’ he says without missing a beat.

‘I can’t, Leo.’ It’s a whisper, but it’s my truth. ‘You’ve never had a relationship, never even wanted one. I want it all. I want serious and forever. I want a picket fence, kids, a dog, and a two-seater rocking chair on the porch. That’s not you, Leo. That’s not the life you ever wanted.’

‘You’re wrong, munch.’

---