Page 81 of My Promise To Keep

I nod and sip from my straw again. I already have too many breaks from him. I don’t want more.

‘I know you must have given this some thought, munch, so tell me. What’s been circling around in that pretty little head of yours?’

I smile. He’s right, but I’m not telling him everything that’s been on my mind because I don’t want to sound like a crazy person talking about kids and marriage two months in.

‘I’m worried about pissing you off to the point that you don’t want me around anymore, but you’ll feel bad telling me because of your promise to take care of me.’

‘Zoe,’ he lifts my hand to press his lips to my palm, ‘that’s not going to happen.’

‘But, I’ll be in Forest Falls, and you’ll be in the city, and when we’re together, we’ll be tired from working and traveling, and I don’t want to push you away. I want you to tell me any time you need a break. Every time I’m getting on your nerves or you just need some alone time. Everything, just let’s be honest with each other.’

‘Done.’

‘And I don’t think we should put a label on this yet.’ His brows knit together, just slightly, but enough that I see it. ‘If we had just met and started dating, we wouldn’t label this yet. The moment we do, there’s this extra weight we have to carry around. I just want us to have fun.’

‘See, I knew you’d have thought about this.’ He smirks. ‘So, no labels and plenty of honesty — we can do that.’

‘And dates.’ I smile, and he raises one eyebrow. ‘I don’t want us to just fall into the comfortable part of a relationship. I want to date you.’

‘We will go on dates.’

‘Lots of them,’

‘Yeah,’ he smiles wide, ‘lots of them.’ He holds eye contact for a minute, then takes a breath and leans in a little closer. ‘Do you want to — I mean, do you want us to stop having sex?’ His voice is a whisper as we become hyper-aware of all the families around us.

‘No, I do not want us to stop having sex.’

‘It’s just that you want to go slow.’

‘Yeah, slow, not stupid. Sex with you is the highlight of my life right now.’ I’m serious, but he laughs.

‘So, plenty of dates, plenty of sex. This is sounding pretty damn good.’

I laugh now. ‘Maybe we should head back to the hotel and get a head start.’

My mood becomes more serious when I see the fire in his eyes.

‘Best idea you ever had.’

As we make it back to the hotel and find our way from the parking lot, I’m distracted by a sensual laugh coming from the bar area and stop to see a woman sitting at the bar talking to a man. I stand still, fixed to the spot, as I watch for a moment until Leo realizes I’m not following him toward the elevators and comes to a stop next to me.

‘How do you do that?’ I ask absentmindedly, and he looks in the direction of my fixed gaze.

‘What?’

‘Hit on someone in a bar. End up flirting, making out, and sleeping together. I’ve never been hit on that way. Drunk guys in clubs, yeah, but someone who makes me laugh and play with my hair like that, smile like that, cross my legs like that, never.’

‘Should I be offended?’

I tap a hand to his chest and turn my attention to him. ‘Honey, you turn me all the way on, but I feel like I’ve missed so many experiences. I just, I don’t know. It’s silly. Come on.’

I start to walk, but Leo pulls me back to him by my hand.

‘Go to the bar, order a drink, and wait there,’ he says, his voice low against my ear, and goosebumps rise on my skin.

‘What?’ I whisper, my voice being swallowed by my desire for this man.

‘You heard me. Go.’

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