Page 55 of Stay With Me
“Okay. I’m going to go to bed. I’m really tired today,” she tells me with a yawn.
“Okay. I’m going to sit on the porch and read if you need anything.”
“Thanks for everything, Luna. Even when I’m confused, I’m happy to be here with you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m happy you’re here too,” I tell her, emotions clogging my throat.
Watching her stand to head to her room, I can only hope that I made the right choice to involve the FBI and that it hasn’t put a bigger target on our backs. Checking the time, I see it’s only seven thirty. I grab the book the girls and I are reading from the spare room and head to the front porch to sit on the swing.
Noah has the perfect house. It’s about twenty minutes from my job, so it’s not far, but isn't near the center of town either. It’s peaceful.
Setting my phone to the side, I open my book, excited to jump into the new story.
Noah’s headlights catch my eye as he turns into the driveway. Setting the book down, I watch him get out of the truck. Every time I see him, he takes my breath away, and I still feel like I have to pinch myself that this man is even remotely interested in someone like me.
My heart flutters every time I see him in his uniform—his broad chest under his bulletproof vest and the way his pants mold to his strong legs. His messy blond hair looks like he ran his hands through it recently, and his blue eyes lock onto mine. His smirk tells me I was caught checking him out, and I can’t help but squirm as he walks closer.
“Hey, baby, how are you?” he asks as he walks up the stairs.
“Um, I’m okay. I had a conversation with Jess before she went to bed that I was expecting, but it still caught me off guard.”
“A bad conversation?”
“I don’t think I would say it was bad. More about if I miss The Family.”
“Oh. Were you okay talking about it? I know her therapist talked about it coming up,” he says, now fully standing in front of me.
My eyes fight to stay on his face after the last couple of chapters in my book.
I’ve never been drawn to anyone like I am to him.
I remember the first time a guy flirted with me after I left The Family. I didn’t understand what was happening. I had no interest in even the thought of dating.
Until the moment I met Noah.
“Yeah, I was okay talking about it, but it was harder to put into words than I thought it would be.”
His eyes search mine to see if I’m telling the truth, but I’m okay.
Well, about that topic anyway.
What I don’t know how to bring up is how I’m ready for us to go to the next step in our relationship. I know he said he wanted to make sure I was ready, but I don’t want to wait much longer.
I adjust how I’m sitting on the swing and run my hand through my hair to get the stray strands off my face.
He moves to sit down next to me the best he can with his utility belt on, his eyes never leaving mine. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem… off.”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be okay?”
He narrows his eyes like he can see through my half lie. Then his eyes travel down my body, landing on my book. When his eyes meet mine again, his smirk stretches into a full smile.
“Whatcha reading about, baby?”
“A book about a girl who is accidentally kidnapped by a man and someone he works with and he wants to keep her because he falls in love,” I answer and lick my lips.
I’m not embarrassed about the fact that I read romance, but I don’t know how to talk about it either.
He leans forward like he is going to kiss me, and my eyes start to close.
