Page 74 of You Owe Me

Mascara wrecked. Eyes glassy. Hair damp and tangled.

“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

I nod once. “Heaven help me.”

And she smiles.

Not the tipsy smile.

The real one.

The one that makes staying feel like the only logical choice I’ve ever made.

She looks up at me again, lips parted, breath shaky.

“I want to make it up to you,” she whispers.

My jaw tightens. “You don’t have to.”

Her fingers trail down my stomach. “I know.”

There’s no coy smile. No teasing in her voice. Just something raw. Honest. Like she needs this more than I do.

“I need to feel close to you. Right now.”

I nod once.

She leans forward again, slower this time, and I feel the warmth of her mouth against my skin—lower now. Deliberate. Soft kisses, each one laced with an apology she won’t say outloud. Each one tethering her to me when everything else inside her feels like it’s slipping.

I suck in a breath as her fingers curl into my waistband.

And then?—

My hand cups her cheek, stopping her.

Not because I don’t want it.

Because I do.

I really do.

But not like this.

Not when she’s trying to trade pieces of herself for peace she doesn’t owe me.

Her eyes flick up, wide and wet.

“I love you,” I say again, firmer now. “Even when you’re a mess. Even when you don’t know how to fix it.”

Her lip trembles.

And this time, when she presses her face into my stomach, she doesn’t try to go further.

She just breathes.

And I hold her there.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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