Page 109 of The Cupid Chronicles

Am I a glutton for punishment? Definitely.

Will I regret it if something does happen? Probably yes, but maybe not.

That pretty much sums up how I make all my decisions when it comes to Matteo.

Will he turn away from me again? Probably yes,butmaybe not.

Should I leave his apartment after he falls asleep? Probably yes,but maybe not.

The episode ends. My cue to go.

Beside me, Matteo shifts.

It’s a familiar pattern, but we both seem intent on avoiding the awkward moment, usually by not looking at each other when I leave.

I am in the friend zone. But at least I get to be around him. That’s good enough, right?

I pick up the remote and mute the TV, then glance over, surprised to find him watching me. I smile. “I told you your guy would be safe.” I nod back toward the TV, but my nerves are buzzing.

“I’m not convinced you haven’t watched this whole season all the way through,” he says.

I gasp in mock-horror. “I would never.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” He stretches, then sinks a bit deeper into the couch.

“I do wonder what it’s like for you to watch it with your knowledge of cooking versus me watching it with?—”

“No knowledge of cooking?”

I lean back and angle my body slightly toward him, trying not to read into the fact that he doesn’t seem to want me to go. “You could teach me. I mean, the French toast was a big success.”

“I could,” he says.

“You could teach a whole class,” I say.

“Eh.”

I frown. “Why not?”

“Too many people,” he says.

“I think you’re better with people than you give yourself credit for. I mean, look at us. We’re thick as thieves.” I exaggerate the comment, then glance over, expecting him to make some crack about how I’m always around and he can’t get rid of me, even with a cattle prod, but instead, I’m met withthat lookagain.

The one that seems to say more than he’s ever said out loud.

My heart stalls. My face heats. All these days of being back here, and this hasn’t happened again . . . until now.

I don’t want to think about how I shouldn’t let myself feelall the things. I have big feelings . . . so what? I have to believe that one of these days, feeling them isn’t going to come back to bite me.

What if this time is different?

Matteo shifts and sits up, eyes locked on to mine.

I’ve dated men. I know what this moment looks like, the seconds before everything shifts, the moment before the relationship changes.

It’s the heartbeat before I fall in love.

It’s familiar and entirely new all at the same time.

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