Page 49 of Stay Away from Him

“Iamserious,” Thomas said.

“I know.” She crossed the room to him, took his hands in hers, gave him a kiss that lingered. “I know you’re being serious. You’re very,veryserious.” She gave him what she hoped was a gentle smile, so he knew she was only teasing.

“Well? What do you say?”

“I guess I’d say—well, what do you mean,another level? Are you, like, asking me to go steady? You want to be boyfriend-girlfriend?”

Thomas pulled his hands away. “Stop. You’re making fun of me.”

She laughed again and moved closer to him, looping her arms around his neck. Reluctantly, Thomas’s hands came to Melissa’s waist.

“I’m not,” Melissa said. “I’m touched, I am. And I want to move forward in this relationship. It’s just, well…what other level is there? Things feel pretty serious right now. We’ve been having sex almost every day. We see each other constantly. You’re always sneaking away to come here.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” Thomas said. “Sneaking. I feel like you and me, we’re this secret thing.”

Melissa’s fingers moved up, curling in the hair at the back of his head. Pulling him gently toward her. “Isn’t it fun, though? Sneaking around. Making love while everyone else is at work.”

“Of course it’sfun. And that doesn’t have to stop. I’m just ready for…something more.”

She paused, thinking. There was only one thing he could be talking about.

“You want to make it more official with our families. Our kids.”

Thomas nodded. “That’s right.”

“But I thought you liked seeing me this way—sneaking here, keeping me in the basement. Your little secret.” She flashed a mischievous grin, but there was a provocation in her words, a test. A part of Melissa was beginning to fear that Thomas was keeping herisolated from the rest of his life on purpose—to make it that much easier to simply cut her out of his life when he grew tired of her.

“No,” Thomas said. “You were the one who thought we were going too fast, that we shouldn’t bring the kids into this. I let that be the way things were because it was what you seemed to want, and I wanted to see you.”

Melissa reddened, her cheeks growing hot. Thomas was right, she realized—she’dbeen the one to want to keep their relationship from their kids, from the world. If anyone had been holding back, it was her.

Thomas, though? He’d been all-in from the beginning. He’d been clear with her about that.

“Your girls,” Melissa said. “What do they know?”

“Everything,” Thomas answered. “I told them that first night that we were going on a date. Remember? And I’ve been honest with them since then. They know we’re still seeing each other. And that I’m really serious about you.”

Melissa spiraled deeper into guilt. Moments ago, she’d thought that Thomas had been getting ready to break up with her, that he’d purposefully been keeping their relationship secret and casual—when all along, this relationship had been exactly whatshewanted, because ofherfears,herhesitations. Now she understood why Thomas had seemed so nervous. Not because he was about to push her away, but because he wanted more. And he was afraid she’d say no.

“Hey,” Melissa said, and put a hand on his forearm. “I’m serious about you too.”

Thomas looked at her. “Are you?”

She pressed into him, pulled his hands toward the small of her back. She gazed up at him, linked her fingers again at the back of his neck. “I really am.”

Thomas breathed out. “I love you, Melissa.”

And there it was. The first time either of them had said it. The first night they made love, Thomas had told Melissa he thought he was capable of loving her, but this was different. This was the first time he’d put those words in that order.I. Love. You.

Melissa wanted to say it too, but she held herself back a second or two. Not because she didn’t want to, but didn’t want it to be a reflex, an instinctive call-and-response. She waited until she knew she could mean it.

She closed her eyes. “I love you too.”

Thomas let out a breath. “Whew. Well.”

Melissa let a moment stretch out, simply looking at him, at his cool gray-blue eyes, marveling and wondering at the man behind them. The man who loved her.

“Okay,” she said. “So what were you thinking? For this whole ‘taking things to the next level’ thing.”

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