Page 39 of The Probability of Us

His hands are shaking as he sets it down and turns towards me. Something in me shifts then. This was supposed to be fun and light, the conclusion to the flirtatious challenge during the game. But I’m suffocating in the dense reality of it—it’s heavy and real. I know us, I knowme, and I can’t do casual—wecan’t do casual. This is either going to be all-encompassing or nothing at all, and I need to know which it’ll be now, before I let it become everything to me.

“You’re leaving again in a week,” I whisper as he takes small steps closer to me. “What are we doing?”

“What feels right,” he answers immediately, his hand reaching for mine and lacing our fingers together.

“Warren.”

“Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll walk out that door right now,” he says, pleading, tears still pooling in his golden eyes. “Tell me that something has felt more right than being together and I won’t say another word. Tell me that you don’t still love me like I love you and I’ll find some excuse to get on the next plane out of here. Tell me you don’t want me anymore and I’m gone.”

A tear drops down my cheek and he lifts his hand to gently wipe it away. I close my eyes and lean into his touch. After a deep breath I look right at him. “You know I can’t tell you that. You know I still love you.”

“That’s all I need,” he says on his way to kiss me. And when our lips meet, that’s it. No more second guessing, no more questions, no more holding back. I give in to this feeling and to him. I give into this pull that’s always been between us. This pull that willalwaysstay between us.

I kiss him, hungrily, desperately, not wanting to wait another second to be with him. My hand runs up his chest, pulling his shirt over his head and he laughs. “Someone’s antsy.”

I seal my lips back to his and mumble against him, “You might love it when I get under your skin, but there are other parts of you I’d love to be under right now.”

“Your wish is my command,” he says and picks me up, not breaking the kiss.

“Bedroom is at the end of the hallway.” I guide him when he starts heading toward the second bedroom that’s set up as an office space.

“I thought you said I do my best work without a bed,” he teases.

I laugh. “Just shut up and get me out of my clothes already.”

He lays me back on the bed and slides down my body. My heart is a drum, beating along to the perfect harmony of this moment, the long-awaited serendipity of this reunion I’d prayed would happen for years.

“I’ve missed you, Analise,” he whispers against my stomach as he pulls my shirt off. “And how bossy you are in bed.”

My eyes that had just fluttered closed fly open. I sit up and gape at him. “I amnotbossy in bed.”

He raises an eyebrow at me and starts taking my leggings off slowly,so fucking slowly.I try to stay still but I can’t take it. This is torture. I start wiggling around trying to get him to move faster.

“Warren,” I complain, and he just laughs.

He only gets them to my knees before I take charge, sitting up and pulling them off before grabbing the waistband of his athletic shorts and pulling him to me while slipping them off him at the same time. He chuckles as he lands on the bed beside me, and I immediately climb on top of him.

That perfect sunshine smile is looking back at me. “Bossy,” he says. And before I can respond he pulls me down and kisses me. “And I fucking love it.” He cups my face and holds us nose to nose. “I love you. Always have, always will.”

“I started falling in love with you when I saw you leaning against your cubicle that first day,” I say, tears in my eyes. He loves me. Hestillloves me. “And I never stopped. I love you, Warren. Always have, always will.”

We both have glassy eyes as we make love to each other for the first time in over six years—and it’s just that. This is not just sex. This is not fucking. This is pure love flowing between two people who have been apart for too long. This is destiny taking over and righting something that has been wrong since the moment he walked away.

This iseverything.

Even after we’re done, we lie there, holding each other, staring into each other’s eyes, unwilling to break this precious moment. A tear drops down my cheek and his hand lifts to wipe it away.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper, lips quivering. I still can’t quite convince myself this isn’t a dream. “I thought about you every day, no matter how hard I tried not to.”

I close my eyes as the featherlight pressure of his lips touches mine and his thumb continues to wipe my tears.

“I hate that you’re crying because of me,” he says against my lips.

“These are happy tears.” I pull back and smile at him. “I hoped you would come back every day and we could get a second chance, because you’re all I’ve ever wanted. This moment is almost too good to be true.”

“It’s real, it’s true.” He presses his forehead against mine and takes a deep breath. “We’rereal.”

I kiss him one more time before rolling out of bed to get cleaned up. In the bathroom, I stare at my reflection and grin at my messy hair and glassy eyes. I look happy—I’m glowing. I’ve been missing my sun for so long I almost forgot what this feels like: being Miss Summers and living up to the name. It feels good.

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