Page 22 of Falling for You Again

“We do, and that’s what I like about us. We’re honest about our feelings.” He threads his fingers with mine. “Truth is, I kept thinking about that stupid list.”

“What list?”

“The one we made on the plane.”

“The marriage-material list? Wow. I wonder what happened to it.” We rushed off the plane. I thought I put the napkin in my purse, but I couldn’t find it when I arrived home. I assumed the list fell out at some point during our night in Vegas.

Aaron nudges me onto my back and leans over me, reaching for the nightstand.

“No,” I say as he tugs open the drawer and shows me the napkin. “You kept it.” Not only that, he kept it close by.

Aaron rolls onto his back. I take the napkin from him and he scoots closer, plastering against my side. I hold it up so we can both read. The ink has faded, and the paper is crinkled as if it’s been handled often.

“‘Marriage-Material List.’” I read my own handwriting. “‘Someone you want to wake up with every morning. Someone who prioritizes you over friends and family. Someone who will dance with you.’”

“Fallon didn’t like to dance.”

“Oh.” I glance at him. I remember that. He shrugs his shoulder. “I like to dance,” I say.

“I know you do.” His eyes meet mine for a beat, and I wonder if he’s thinking about the club in Vegas or tonight. He easily led me in a waltz. We just clicked into place as if no time had passed.

He nods at the napkin, beckoning me to read more.

“‘Someone who will sing your favorite songs with you,’” I continue. “‘Someone who doesn’t resent you because of your work. Someone who supports your passions. Someone who understandsme timedoesn’t mean you don’t want to be with them. Someone who means it when they sayI love you.’”

“It has to be from the heart,” Aaron murmurs by my ear, and my stomach tightens. Exactly what I said when he’d added how he wanted to hear “I love you.” He didn’t want those three beautiful words to become a salutation, like an automated response when you ended a call.

I scratch a spot behind my ear, uncomfortable with the effect our list is having on me. Is this what Aaron meant when he said he couldn’t stop thinking about it? I would love to have this with someone. I want to have this with someone. But at the risk of not being able to devote my full attention to my work? I know my family. I know myself. I could never successfully manage both. I failed with Paul. I’d fail with anyone else.

I continue reading. “‘Someone fun and playful. Someone willing to try new things with you. Someone compassionate, respectful, and kind. Someone who will stand behind you. Someone who will stand up for you. Someone not afraid to stand uptoyou.’”

I finish and we’re both quiet.

“We set the bar high,” I say, breaking the silence.

“It’s a lot for someone to live up to.”

Which is why it would never work. But I joke, “We ruined each other for anyone else. We should just marry again.”

“We should.”

I look at him. “You’re not serious.”

He doesn’t say anything.

“I was kidding, you know that, right? You and I agreed marriage isn’t our thing.”

Aaron makes a noise in the back of his throat and moves over me. He kicks my legs apart. Then he kisses me, moving down my body, and my breaths deepen and my world narrows on the attention he starts lavishing.

“If this is your way of convincing me, it’s not going to work.”

With his mouth pressed to me, I feel his laughter vibrate my bones. He then adds a finger and I groan, my head falling back and arms folding over my face.

I am a goner.

Chapter 10

Another Dare

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