Page 50 of One Night Only

Sheer wonder and disbelief dance across her features. Her lips tremble, and she presses her fingers to them. “Please tell me you aren’t joking.”

“I’d never joke about our future.”

She nods and swallows. “I quit, Martha fell, you were visiting, Rahul had his bi-awakening, and it’s like…”

“Fate. Kismet. My rainbow girl, my missing piece, walked into my path in a slutty cupid costume.”

Her gaze searches mine. “I’m scared. Aren’t you?”

“Why?” I say, rubbing circles into her back.

“It all feels so flimsy, so out of our hands. I don’t have faith in the universe being on my side, Dr. Cross. It’s always kicked me to my knees.”

“Do you have faith in me, Ani?”

Her “yes” is instant, emphatic.

I gather her to me, my heart overflowing with a quiet joy I’ve never known. “Something like this comes along only once in a lifetime, if that. Believe me, I know.” I inhale deeply and rub my lips against her temple. “I can’t wait for our lives to begin again, together this time.” Then I dip down for another taste of her sweet lips again. “I knew very early into the night that you’re exactly what my life’s missing.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Annika

I cling to Dr. Cross,rooting each word he says deep inside me.

Still in shock that I decided to come back to him, to crack open the glassy cage of my fears at the last second. At least I know that stepping out of that intoxicating bubble that hotel room wove around us was necessary. That I can trust myself to deal with this in a healthy way.

It was the glinting road sign readingYou’re leaving Oregonthat did it. Suddenly, my fear of not telling him how I felt outweighed my fear of loving him. Like I was burning past the atmosphere of the universe we built together if I left the state and would never find it again.

Insane to consider the boundary of a city to be the sign I needed. But Portland has been good to me. I made friends here—kind, a little delusional, drifting-through-life-with-no-plans friends—who didn’t judge me, who simply held me through hard times, who loved me. I found my footing here, even if it was a hollow one, away from my overbearing family. I met Marthahere, who reminded me how it feels to be loved without having to earn it.

Now, this precious city gave me Dr. Cross. But it didn’t say one night only—I did. And I refused to let the good streak that Portland has for me get ruined.

Zach’s totally justified in calling me bat-shit crazy because when we passed the sign, I screeched at the top of my lungs, begging Rahul to make a U-turn, to take an exit, to do something other than step over the state line into Washington.

I think I actually screamed something likeCan’t leave my heart behind in Oregon,like some despondent, 90s rom-com heroine.

Now, as I drown myself in Dr. Cross’s scent and warmth, that stupid, hopeful heart’s still ringing in my ears. He’s going to move to Seattle. Maybe I can see him daily based on my class schedule. Maybe we can move in together. Maybe…

“Tell my mind and my heart to stop making outrageous plans,” I say, hiding my face in his chest.

“As I happen to adore both, I can’t.” Dr. Cross’s voice gentles. “No plans you make are outrageous, or unreasonable, or impossible. As long as they include me.”

“You’ve got the starring role,” I say, sighing.

“Good.” He strokes my back, cups my hips with that same desperation I feel. His lips are cool against the top of my cheek as he lays an open-mouthed kiss. “Come, let’s go visit Mom before your sentinels come back. She won’t forgive me if I let you leave without visiting with her.”

I don’t mean to react so visibly, but my shoulders tense. My fingers curl into his chest, as if he’s the anchor against the sudden tide of panic. I’m not ready to tell the world about us. Hell, I’m barely ready to admit this to myself.

And Martha…Martha’s one of the few people in the world who likes me as a person, who loves me. I can’t lose that. Not just yet.

Her son watches me like a hawk. Dr. Cross won’t push, doesn’t try to persuade me—not his style. But he’s waiting for an answer. If I say no, it feels like I’m already failing him. It would be the very first thing he’s asked of me, ever.

“She’s just had a fallanda surgery. Does she need more shocks?”

I expect a little flash of frustration. Instead, the sexy doctor smirks, surprising me yet again. It’s an expression I haven’t seen on his face in the eighteen hours we’ve known each other.

My heart fills with fresh wonder. There’s so much to learn about each other, so many things to discover together. And there’s that seed of faith budding deep in my core, saying I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.

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