Page 73 of The Broken Heart Playlist
“And watching the movie at the same time.”
He gives a shake of his head. “Nope. Not happening on my watch.”
I pick up the iron. “I feel I need to explain multitasking to you.”
“And IfearI need to explain relaxing to you.” His eyes fasten intently on me. “Tell me, Kate, do you spend every minute trying to cram in as many tasks as you can into that minute?”
I nod slowly.
“And how do you feel?”
“Well, I get a lot done.”
“No, Kate, how do youfeel?”
Exhausted. Swamped. Anxious. Tense.
I stay silent, but my face must communicate all the words crashing around in my head, because he pushes to his feet and walks toward me. He takes the iron gently from my hand and sets it back in the cradle. Unplugs it. Then he grasps my hand and leads me to the couch.
“Sit.”
I stare at the clothes pile sitting on the wingback. The clothes pile that will be waiting for me tomorrow. All I’m doing is adding another chore to my never-ending list. “But—”
“Movie night,” he reminds me in a soft voice. “No thinking about tomorrow.”
“I’m always thinking about tomorrow.”
“Right now, right here, we’re living in this moment.”
For some reason, I find myself listening to him. I flop down next to Lisset and munch pizza and popcorn and chocolate while I watch the movie. When I’m saturated with sugar, I rest my head on the armrest, but my feet dangle awkwardly off the couch, so I bring them up and tuck them against my chest, making sure I don’t encroach on Lisset’s space. But the fetal position is truly uncomfortable.
Gideon’s chest lifts and falls as he sighs. “Swap with me, Lissy.”
Before I can protest, he’s traded places with Lisset so he’s sitting in the middle of the couch. My stomach flips when his warm, strong hands wrap around my ankles. Liquid warmth spreads up my legs, pooling in my stomach. How long has it been since a man touched me like this?
Gideon lifts my feet and places them in his lap so I’m able to stretch out my legs.
“Comfortable?” he asks me, his eyes staying on mine.
I’m not surecomfortableis the word I’d use in this very moment. I clear my throat. “Yes, I’m comfortable.”
Energy swirls around us.
I feel the weight of his hand resting on my ankle.
He asks Lisset for a blanket and she fetches a cream one from the basket, grabbing a pink one for herself. Using one hand, he drapes the blanket over me.
He still hasn’t removed his other hand from my ankle.
That feels like an important bullet point. And the fact that I like the reassuring weight of it there.
I’m attempting to watch the movie playing out on the screen, to be as entranced as Lisset is by the action sequences, but I’m too aware of Gideon sitting so close. Surely he feels the intimacy of this moment as intensely as I do? But he’s looking straight ahead, laughing along with Lisset while he watches the movie.
I don’t know at what point I fall asleep, but the next minute Gideon is gently shaking my shoulder. “Hey, Kate, the movie’s finished.”
I sit up, throwing off the blanket and knuckling my eyes. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. Where’s Lisset?”
“Getting ready for bed. I told her you’d say goodnight to her.”
