Page 125 of Not That Impossible

I hung it up next to mine on the coat pegs and went back to stand in front of him. He hadn’t moved from the entrance.

“You seem nervous,” he said.

“What? No, I don’t. What do I have to be nervous about?Nothing.”

Liam’s eyes half closed and he contemplated me.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said.

“Okay.” He reached out and laid a hand on my chest, leaning in to kiss me.

Before our lips met, he pulled back with a frown.

“Your heart’s going pretty fast,” he said.

“Is it? Oh.”

Liam slid his hand up to my neck. He found my pulse. “Very fast. What kind of conditioning were you doing?”

“Pushups. V-sits. Don’t worry. I’ve got a fast recovery period. I’m an athlete. I’ve got the resting heart rate of a lizard.”

“Right,” he said. “Only it’s going faster now.”

“No it isn’t.”

He shifted closer and stared deep into my eyes.

I held my breath, willing my pulse to slow down, but it was no good. I gasped.

“Jasper,” Liam said, cupping my face. “Are you panicking?”

“No!” I’d been too loud; his eyes widened. I grasped his wrists and held on. “I’m…normal. This is normal. This is sexy anticipation, is what it is. I’m—”

“This is alarming, and I want you to come with me and sit down for a minute,” he said.

I let him lead me into the sitting room and nudge me onto the sofa. He crouched in front of me. I immediately tried to slide down to my knees and join him, but he pushed me back.

“What’s going on?” he said firmly. “What do you need?”

“Um. Forgiveness, probably?” Oh no. What was I saying?

“Why? What have you been up to? Out and about, committing crime?” he asked.

“Yes!”

Liam blinked.

“Oh, don’t worry,” I rushed to say. “Not crime against society in general. Just you.”

For some reason, this made him start to smile again.

“Liam.”

“Jasper.”

I took in a deep breath. “I have to confess.” I did, I realised. I couldn’t start the rest of my life with this wrongdoing hanging over me. I had to tell him.

“Okay.”

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