Page 78 of More Than Falling in Love

I step into the elevator.

After they’ve tapped their card on the panel and pressed sixty-one, the woman looks at me.“Sixty-one?”

“Yep.”

“Thanks for the tip about the view.This is our first time in the city.”The woman rubs her husband’s arm.“It’s our anniversary trip.”

“You’re welcome.”Considering I’ve never seen the view, I hope they aren’t disappointed.

When we reach our floor, they go to the left, and I head to the right.Poppy’s room is tucked in the corner of the building, which means if she turns me away, I won’t have to suffer in front of an audience.

My heart is hammering as I knock.

“Coming.”I hear something topple, then footsteps approach the door.

It swings open.“Sar—Kent.”

Her face is covered in green goo, her hair wrapped in a towel.And I’ve never wanted to kiss her more than I do at this very moment.But that’s not why I’m here.

“Hi,” I say, hoping she doesn’t close the door before I have a chance to set things right.

She blinks, then cracks form in the mask as she scrunches up her face.“What’s wrong?Is Dad okay?”She motions me into the room.“What about Mason?”

“They’re both fine.At least they were when I left the ranch, and I haven’t heard any different.”

There’s barely enough space for the both of us in this room.A king-sized bed takes up the majority of the square feet.Beyond the bed is a table but only one chair.But the floor-to-ceiling window offers an amazing view of the city.The couple will love it.

I snap my gaze back to her.“I came to apologize.”

Poppy tightens the belt on her bathrobe.

After dropping my bag, I set the food on the counter so I don’t do anything embarrassing like drop it while I’m pouring out my heart.

“I’m so sorry.What I said to you at the hospital was mean.And after our kiss, I should’ve handled things better, but I was selfish and only thinking about myself.”I take a step toward her.“I miss you.I miss our conversations, the way you smile at me while Mason is reading.I spent so much time trying to get the cork back in the bottle, but I can’t.I’ve just decided I can live with that.”

She crosses her arms and sits on the edge of the bed, making me think references to anything about champagne is a bad idea.

“I want you to know that I understand.This is about more than falling in love.It’s about more than what I want.You have a life here and a job.And you love this city.But I still want to be your friend… if you’ll have me.”

She stands up, and it’s hard to make out her expression under all that goo.“What did you say?”

“I want us to be friends.”

“Before that.”

“You have a life here.It would be selfish to ask you to give this up.But I can’t uproot Mason from the ranch.He needs that stability after everything that’s happened to him.Otherwise, I’d move here and find something I could do.Just to be close to you.”

Tears slip down her green cheeks, cutting lines through the stuff on her face.

I’m hoping these are the happy kind.“Please say something.”

Her gaze sweeps over me, then lands on my hand.“What happened?”

“When you left my hospital room, I jumped out of bed, hoping to catch you.Bad move.My hand broke my fall.And the fall broke my hand.”I remember the earring tucked in my wallet.“Oh, this is yours.It must’ve fallen out of your ear when you rested your head on my chest.”I offer it to her, but she just stares at it.

“You remember that?”She glances from the earring to my face.

Shaking my head, I inch a little closer.“The nurse told me.”

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