It’s like he’s forcing himself to stay still.Like if he reaches for me now, he won’t be able to stop.
I suck in another shaky breath, trying to steady myself, but my chest is too tight.I can still feel his hands on my waist.The way he held me there, like he needed me as much as I needed him.
And God, the way he kissed me?—
I squeeze my eyes shut.
No.
No, I can’t think about this now.
Because if I do, I’ll fall apart completely.
I press my palm against the gate behind me, grounding myself.
Joel watches the movement.His lashes fluttering like he’s barely holding himself back.
Like if I gave him even the smallest opening—he’d close the space between us again.A part of me actually wishes he would.Is that as wrong as it sounds?
I suck in a breath—about to say something, anything, just to cut through the tension.
And then, because the universe hates me?—
“Anna?Joel?”
I freeze.
Joel’s head snaps up, his whole body tensing.
Oh, no.
Oh,no no no.
I know that voice.
And from the way Joel suddenly looks like a deer caught in headlights, he’s more than aware, too.
Slowly, like we’re about to be caught committing a crime, we turn.
And there she is.
My mother.
Standing just a few feet away, eyebrows lifted, arms crossed over her chest.
She takes one long look at the two of us—me, still pink-faced, still breathless.Joel, stiff and suspiciously silent.The inches between us that feel like nothing at all.
And then she smiles.
Not just any smile, either.
A full, beaming, happy-mother smile.
I swear, I just about black out.
“Oh,” she says, voice too damn soft, too damn pleased.“Finally.”
I choke on air.