Page 30 of Raging Inferno

“You can fall into my lap again,” he suggests.

The old me would’ve leaped over the table without hesitation. Maybe it’s time to get back to basics, back to living for the moment and not the past. Holding Jimmy’s attention, I push out my chair and stand to my feet. His chair slides back as I round the tiny table and instead of faking a fall, I take a seat on his lap. Without giving it too much thought, I do what comes natural and wind my arms around his neck. Inhaling a sharp breath, our foreheads touch as I stare into his half-closed eyes.

“Hi,” I whisper as he grips my waist.

“Hi,” he grinds out, pulling me closer. A second passes and we share the same breath before his mouth closes over mine. His lips are soft as they familiarize themselves with mine until they’re not. Until they are just as demanding as my own. I open my mouth welcoming his tongue as it sweeps over mine and the butterflies I felt the night before return, taking flight deep within me. They force me to feel, to take and to taste.

For the first time since I lost Chris, my shadow is moving without his.

And that’s okay.

I’m okay.

I’m alive.

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