Page 62 of More Than Falling in Love

The throng in Times Square gets louder.

“We can hardly hear you over the mass of people.I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Happy New Year.”The call ends.

Kent nudges a drink toward me.“He was at that fancy party.”

“That’s my boss.He’s married to Sarah.She was my roommate until recently.But we work together too.”

“I wondered who he was.”He twists the cap off a bottle of water.“After you drink that, we can dance again if you’d like.Mason said you like dancing with me.”

“He’s not wrong.”

Chapter 22

Kent

By eleven thirty, Mason is slumped against me, sound asleep.All that dancing wore him out.And it’s way past his normal bedtime.As much as I want to stay here and visit with Poppy a little longer, I need to get him home.

I tap her shoulder.“I’m headed out.I had fun tonight.”

“Me too.”Her gaze sweeps the room.“I think I’ll go with you if that’s okay.”

“Don’t mind a bit.”

The people still here that she knows are paired off.I don’t blame her for wanting to avoid being alone at the stroke of midnight in a room full of people who have kissing partners.

I say goodbye to everyone at the table before shifting Mason into my arms.Poppy keeps a hand on my back as she follows me through the room.And I like the feel of it a bit too much.

It’s probably a good thing she and I won’t be sitting next to each other when the kissing starts.

On the drive back, Poppy talks about the new people she’s met, about how much fun she had.And I’m stealing glances at her lips, letting myself wonder how kissing her would feel, which is a dangerous thing.

But fighting my feelings is getting harder.If she gives me the slightest hint she wants more out of this relationship, I’m jumping in with both feet.

Working together, we get Mason inside and wake him just enough to get him out of his jeans and into pajamas.Poppy tucks the covers around him and kisses his forehead.“Happy New Year, kiddo.”

Then I kiss his head.“Love you, bud.”

He mumbles something, then sighs as he falls back to sleep.

I tap Poppy’s hip.“Ava bought me a tiny bottle of champagne in case I ended up here at midnight.I’ll break it open, and we can go out to the porch.”

“Perfect.”She ties her hair up and wraps a scrunchie around the messy bun.

I stare an extra second, appreciating how beautiful she is.It’s funny because her beauty was the first thing I noticed when meeting her, but I haven’t thought about that aspect of her in a while.There are so many other things about her that I like.

She rubs my back as she walks past me into the kitchen.“Oh!Ava even bought you flutes.”

“She did.”I didn’t ask why Ava had purchased two because I’m quite sure she envisioned this exact scene.Poppy and I here to celebrate with Mason sound asleep.

I pop the cork off the small bottle and pour champagne into both glasses.“Need a sweatshirt?”

“Probably.”She lets loose a contagious laugh.“I pretty much live in multiple layers for months on end in New York.”

After handing over the sweatshirt, I pick up the glasses.“It’s got to be close to midnight.”

Looking at her phone as she opens the door, she grins.“Two minutes.”

---