Page 70 of The Dangers of Daydreaming

Her teeth flashed in a wide smile. “You were, weren’t you?”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

Smile still in place, she leaned back again, lying down and looking up at the sky. It was full dark now, and the stars were popping out, which was the whole reason I’d brought us out here.

It was that easy expression on her face that sealed it for me. She wasn’t lying about her reaction—she really didn’t think I was a screw-up. This news hadn’t changed anything for her.

Relieved and honestly a little shocked, I laid down beside her, reducing the space between us to about four inches this time. I figuratively patted myself on the back. Smooth move.

“This is kinda nice,” she said after a few seconds, her tone light. “All this time I’ve been thinking you were so much smarter than me with your degree… turns out I’m the only college graduate here.” She turned her head and gaveme a smug smile that faltered almost immediately. “Sorry. Too soon?”

I couldn’t help myself; I leaned onto my side, reaching a hand out and brushing the pad of my thumb along her jaw. “No, I love your jokes.” My voice was rough, and I knew why. By the look in her eyes, she did too.

Her eyes dropped to my lips, and a fire started in my midsection. Not something small, either—the equivalent of a forest fire was suddenly loose inside me. The combination of how much I cared about this woman and how free I felt having been vulnerable with her twisted in a lethal mix. I was going to kiss her. And it was going to be life-changing.

“Finn,” she whispered.

“Mmhmm?” My hand was at her neck, tickling her beautiful hair.

“I can’t kiss you.”

I blinked, trying to pull myself from the self-made haze as I pulled my hand back.

She rushed on. “I can’t. Not until I figure this out.” She gestured between the two of us. “I like you, Finn. A lot. And that scares me because I’m not looking to have my heart broken here.”

“I’m not looking to break your heart, Lucy. It’s the last thing I want to do.”

She nodded. “I know. But life might do it for us.”

I could have groaned. I might have, actually. But I wasn’t about to force her into something, no matter how much I wanted to kiss her. “You’re right. It might.” My voice was unsteady, and I cleared my throat. “But I don’t plan to let it.”

Her eyes were intense but gave away nothing of what she might be thinking.

But again, they dropped to my lips.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” I murmured, even while I couldn’t stop my hand reaching out and tucking a hair back behind her ear. “We can just enjoy the stars. Enjoy this.”

She bit her lip.

It about killed me. But I couldn’t look away even if I’d wanted to. Everything I’d ever desired was right here in front of me, and I wasn’t taking my eyes off of her until I absolutely had to.

Subtly, she shifted closer to me. An inch, maybe. I kept my eyes steady on hers. I meant what I’d said—we didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want. And I wasn’t going to pressure her. I didn’t know everything, but I knew she’d been burned before. I knew she was worried about the long distance between us. About me, even.

Her chin tilted up and she came even closer. The tips of her fingers grazed mine where they lay on the blanket between us.

The wildfire raged.

I saw the decision in her eyes seconds before her whisper-soft hand landed on my chest. Her fingers splayed out, and for a moment, her attention dropped there. Her palm brought a heat worse than the fire inside me, but it was nothing to the flames in her eyes when they met mine again.

We moved in tandem, our mouths meeting in the middle in an explosion of sensation. My hand was at her back, pulling her closer, hers was on my chest, fisting the fabric there.

Lucy had always said her mind was overactive—that her imagination often took off without her.

I didn’t have that skill, and I couldn’t have imagined how good this moment would be. I couldn’t have thought up how soft her lips were against mine. The faint scent of lilac that filled my senses. I could never have created the waves lapping against our boat as our lips moved against one another.

Her mouth parted, and I pulled her lower lip between my teeth. My hand slipped up her back and into her hair. Hers were on my face, keeping me against her—as if anything but lack of air was going to pull me away. There was only me, Lucy, and our kiss that existed anymore.

It was minutes before we drew back. Around us was darkness broken only by the moon shifting between clouds. I felt light-headed. When it came down to it, I’m pretty sure I’d chosen Lucy over air, and I would do it again.

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