Tears well in my eyes, but I wipe them away before they can fall.
“You said that before we kissed?”
“Yes, ma’am. ’Cause I knew. I was gonna give you as much time as you needed to come to terms with what was happenin’ between us, but in my gut, I knew you were it for me. I know it’s soon, and you might have some reservations since I just got out of a serious relationship, but lookin’ back, I was checked out of it a long time ago. Findin’ my way back to you has made me feel more alive than I’ve felt in years. So even though I didn’t know when you’d be ready, I wanted to set her straight. And the sooner she realizes I’m not an option for her, the sooner she’ll stay out of my life. Hell, maybe I put it out into the universe by tellin’ her that.”
He smirks at that last part.
My cheeks heat at his honesty, but I don’t even know how to reply to something that genuine. So, I lean in and kiss him.
“I appreciate you givin’ me time, but I’m ready now. At least, privately until we can go public.”
“Posey, baby. I will take anythin’ I can get ’cause I know it’ll be worth it either way.”
chapter twenty
Silas
“So I was thinkin’of goin’ into town tomorrow to look for a new suit for the weddin’ next weekend. Would you wanna go with me?”
Posey sits across from me, drinking her coffee and eating breakfast, before we head into work. Since it’s Friday, and we don’t have to be there early for yoga, I’m tempted as hell to lift her up on this table and devour her.
But after being later than usual yesterday, we can’t risk being late today.
“Yeah, I was thinkin’ of gettin’ a new dress too. Maybe we could match.” She smirks.
“Won’t that make us more obvious?”
She shrugs. “Or a coincidence. We’re roommates who went together. Nothin’ strange about that.”
I love that she’s so willing to go along with keeping us a secret for now. Although she hates lying to her family, it won’t befor long. I have a job interview next Tuesday, and if all goes well, I could start in the next few weeks.
“Am I allowed to wear my cowboy hat?” I waggle my brows. “Since I know it’s your kryptonite.”
Her eyes widen with realization. “I knew you only wore that to tease me!”
When she flicks a piece of toast at me, I bark out a laugh.
“I thought that was obvious.”
“Your fan club sure enjoyed it.”
“Did you see the comments on the video someone posted yesterday?”
“No, I stopped lookin’ after they kept postin’ sexual memes about wantin’ to climb you like a tree.”
I snort, smirking over the rim of my tumbler as I sip my coffee.
“Apparently someone recorded you and me interactin’ and zoomed in every time we touched each other. They made an edit of us.”
“Wait, really?”
“And now they’re all makin’ assumptions about us.”
“Great…” she deadpans. “So much for being subtle. Hopefully my parents don’t see it.”
I’m one hundred percent prepared to quit if I need to. Of course I need this job, but it’d only be a temporary setback. After finally getting her back, I’m not letting anything or anyone get in our way.
Standing, I grab her chin and dip down until our lips meet. “It’ll be okay. Stop worryin’.”