Page 11 of More Than We Know

She presses her lips together as she gathers her thoughts. “I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers yet. I just know that seeing you again brought back so many feelings and memories. Ones I haven’t let myself think about in a long time.”

I want to believe that this is real, that I’m not just an idea she’s entertaining for a little while before she decides she’s had enough. But experience has taught me to be careful, and I’m not sure she even knows what she wants. It’s likely this won’t be a long-term thing for her, and I need to decide if I’m okay with that.

“I feel the same way, but I need you to be honest with me. Is this just curiosity for you? Or is this something more?”

Her eyes flick to mine, and they show me just how conflicted she is. “It’s not just curiosity.” She swallows hard. “I think maybe it’s always been there. I just never let myself think about it too much. Life happened, with marriage and work and kids, and I pushed everything else to the back of my mind.” She exhales shakily. “But I can’t ignore it anymore.”

Something tightens in my chest. I wasn’t expecting her to be this open and vulnerable with me, and a part of me still wants to run. But a bigger part of me—the part that’s been aching for years, wondering “what if”—wants to stay.

I sigh, knowing I need to be honest with her too. “The issue is, I’ve been in situations like this before with married couples. And I’ve always ended up hurt and tossed to the side.”

Pain flashes across her expression, and I instantly regret phrasing it that way, but she needs to know what this means for me.

She nods. “I get that. I don’t want to promise something I can’t follow through on, but I’d never intentionally hurt you after—” the rest of the sentence remains unspoken.After I broke your heart the first time.“I just don’t want to walk away from this without at least trying.”

I study her for a long moment, searching for any sign of hesitation. But all I see is sincerity, and despite my better judgment, hope flutters in my chest. She’s still being vague, but I know it’s not intentional. She’s just as clueless about how this will go as I am.

“Okay,” I say. “We can see where this goes, but let’s take it slow.”

Her eyes are filled with hope as she gives me a wide, genuine smile, and my heart bursts with affection for her. She’s so fucking beautiful.

I know I’m setting myself up for eventual heartbreak, because this certainly can’t last forever, but I can’t deny myself more time with her.

But God help me, I think I just agreed to fall for her all over again.

CHAPTER 7

SARAH

I didn’t expect to go back to the club so soon, but it had seemed like a reasonable meeting place. Plus, Quentin and I may as well take advantage of our last few weeks of freedom before school starts.

The pulsing bass of the music thrums through my body as Quentin and I step into Club Caliber again, the atmosphere just as electric as it was last weekend. Excitement tightens in my chest, though this time, it’s layered with a different kind of anticipation.

I glance at my phone for what must be the tenth time in the past five minutes. Kat said she was coming, but there’s still a nervous edge inside me, an almost childish anxiety that she might change her mind. That I imagined the tension between us, the soft way she looked at me across the table at the coffee shop when we agreed to take this—whatever this is—one step at a time.

Quentin squeezes my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts. “She’ll come.” He knows me too well. I’m always worrying about something.

I nod in response but say nothing. One thing that’s great about Kat is that she says what she means and is straight to the point. If she hadn’t wanted to pursue this, she would have told me, so I’m not sure why I’m still so nervous.

We weave through the club, and the familiarity is calming. People lounge on the couches, some deep in conversation, others already tangled together in ways that will soon devolve into back-room debauchery.

As we settle into a pair of barstools, Quentin orders our drinks while I scan the crowd. The anticipation builds with each passing second until suddenly, I see her.

Kat steps into the club like she owns the place.

It’s ridiculous how instantly my body reacts. Her dark hair cascades in waves down her back, and her full lips are painted a deep red. She’s wearing a fitted black dress that hugs the curves I used to know so well, and fuck, I want to touch her so badly it hurts.

A tinge of guilt runs through me at my blatant desire for someone who’s not my husband, but I remind myself that he’s given me full permission to act on my feelings for her. He’sencouragedit.

A knowing smirk plays at Quentin’s lips when he turns away from the bar to hand me my drink and follows my gaze.

“She’s gorgeous,” he remarks.

My pulse quickens as she scans the room and her eyes lock on mine. “Yeah, she is.”

Kat lifts a brow when she sees the two of us watching her, and her lips curve into a subtly wicked smile before she makes her way toward us.

I should try to compose myself before she reaches us, but I’m already entirely unraveled. Quentin’s comment about Kat being gorgeous sticks in my mind, making me wonder how things might play out. While I’ve had plenty of fantasies about Kat, I somehow hadn’t even considered if the three of us would do anything together. I have no clue if that’s something Quentin or Kat would be interested in, but I suppose that’s a conversation for later.

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