Page 31 of Falling for My Matchmaker

“You okay?” he asked, voice low.

“Totally. Just...overthinking.”

“That’s allowed.”

He turned slightly, angling his body toward mine, and that tiny movement felt like a seismic shift.

I looked down at my glass, swirling it for no reason. When I looked back up, he was watching me. Focused. Present.

His fingers reached up and gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

I didn’t flinch, but I definitely stopped breathing for half a second.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “That was very...boundary-aware of you.”

“Just checking.”

He didn’t move his hand away.

His thumb grazed the line of my cheekbone, soft and warm and completely disarming.

“Still okay?”

I nodded, barely.

My chest felt tight—not in the panic way. In theis this happening?way.

I met his eyes. They were steady, unreadable as always, but there was something under the surface now. Not clinical. Not neutral. Just...quiet attention.

“You’re allowed to stop me,” he said again, gently.

“I know.”

My voice barely came out.

I didn’t stop him.

His hand tilted slightly, cupping my jaw now, and I tilted my head instinctively.

God, he smelled like cedar and wine and the exact kind of trouble I wasn’t supposed to get into tonight.

His gaze dropped to my mouth.

I could’ve said no.

Could’ve made a joke.

Could’ve asked if this was part of the lesson.

Instead, I leaned forward.

And kissed him.

It wasn’t dramatic or sudden. It wasn’t a collision.

It was soft. Careful. A question and an answerat the same time.

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