Page 64 of Cross Check Hearts

“Sounds like you worked up an appetite. Can’t imagine why,” he says and cups the back of my head to pull me in and kiss it before he starts to leave the kitchen. I still can’t quite believe how well he’s treating me, and I don’t really want him to leave, so I call after him.

“Declan, wait.”

He freezes and turns to look back at me, perfectly framed in the entryway like some sort of postcard. Maybe it’s silly, but some part of me thinks I’m going to remember him standing like this forever, as if the light from the sun is literally etching it into my brain.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Don’t you want breakfast too?”

A heated look crosses his face as he steps back toward me, leaving so little space between us that he can probably hear my heart hammering in my chest. He pulls me into his arms and rests his forehead against mine, rocking us side to side slightly. And I know I shouldn’t linger because I have a class to get to, but there’s a part of me that would love nothing more than to stay in his arms like this forever.

“I already ate last night,” he says, his voice a low rumble against my skin. “A full course meal.”

My entire body flushes with heat at the memory of all the things he did to me last night, but my brain quickly swoops back into action. I look up at him, summoning the most serious expression I can.

His brows crease, but the smile he’s wearing doesn’t fade. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just… listen, I’m not sure I can handle a relationship right now. I’m really busy with school and the yoga studio, and dating wasn’t really in my plans for this year.”

Declan doesn’t seem fazed by this at all. His smile actually deepens for a second before he plants another kiss on my forehead. “That’s okay. I’ll respect your boundaries.”

My heart flutters again at that and at the intense way he’s staring into my eyes—because I believe him. Most other guys would’ve tried to be all smooth about it and convince me that they could be the exception. But not Declan.

“I know you’re busy and that you have a lot on your plate right now. I respect the hell out of you for that, so I won’t push you. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. And it doesn’t mean I won’t keep wanting more.”

Now my heart is beating so hard and fast that it feels like it could burst out of my chest at any moment. And a blush creeps up my cheeks as I realize that, while I wasn’t trying to scare him off or anything by sharing that, part of me was hoping he’d say exactly what he did. Because we can’t really be together, at least not in the typical sense, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t find some way to keep what we have right now going without any strings attached.

Declan must think I’m freaking out because his expression softens. “I mean, that’s all assuming I still have the green light from you. As long as I do, I’m not going to stop pursuing you. So do I have the green light?”

My heart is thumping against my ribs, making it difficult to speak. I want to tell him yes so badly, to scream it out just like I’ve screamed his name in bed, but I can’t seem to get the words out. So I just nod at him instead because it’s all I can manage—and I don’t trust myself not to say something more. Something I can’t take back.

Declan grins, satisfaction evident in his eyes, and presses his lips against mine one more time before he finally lets me go and moves over to the counter where his cell phone is plugged in and charging.

“I borrowed your charger,” he tells me. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Sorry I accidentally stole your phone.”

“I’m not.” He grins, winking at me as he unplugs it. “Anyway, eat up, and don’t forget to take something with you for lunch. What I made is in the fridge, all ready to go.”

He tucks his phone into his pocket before heading for the door again, and I give a little wave.

“Have a good practice. And don’t tell my dad where you were. I don’t want you to die,” I tell him as he opens the door.

He chuckles. “I won’t—for now.”

With that, he slips out the door, closing it carefully behind him before Ralph can catch up. She jumps up into the windowsill to watch him go, and I can’t stop myself from following her. My hand instinctively reaches out to pet the top of her head, but she bats it away, so I stare down at her, affronted.

“What’s gotten into you?” I ask. She just stares back blankly, her bright yellow-green eyes unblinking in the sunlight, and I click my tongue against my teeth. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I know exactly what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that at all.”

I leave her on the windowsill and walk back to the kitchen to make myself a plate of the scramble Declan made, but Ralph bounds after me and leaps up onto the counter beside me.

“Um, excuse me, you little diva. What do you think you’re doing? He’s making a monster out of you.”

Ralph meows and stares at me from the counter but doesn’t act for a second like she’s going to move. Maybe it’s silly, but I swear she’s silently judging me and chasing me around the house just to let me know that she sees what’s really going on here.

With my hands on my hips, I glare back at her.

“Don’t give me that. You’re obviously softening up for him too,” I tell her, and when she meows back what I’m sure is a very loudyes, I pat her head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

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