For a long time, we don’t say anything else. We just sit there, breathing the same air, stroking the puppy between us with hands that are careful not to accidentally brush, for fear a single spark might light an inferno neither of us knows how tocontain.
I force my thoughts from the man beside me and focus on the kitchen, eyes drifting from the pretty mosaic backsplash to the custom cabinetry. The Macombers’ place is as lovely as its inhabitants. It’s strange to think, in a few short days, I won’t live twenty steps away,anymore.
In truth, I’ll miss being their neighbor almost as much as I’ll miss my apartment itself. Joyce and Ted may be in their early forties, but the twenty-year age gap has never been a limiting factor in our friendship. And that’s really all we were —friends— until one morning a few months ago, when a disheveled-looking Ted appeared on my doorstop with the twins in tow and begged me to watch them because their regular babysitter cancelled at the lastminute.
Please, just this once, it’s anemergency!
I wanted to say no. I didn’t know a thing about kids, let alone twin five-year-olds with more cumulative energy than a nuclear reactor. It was supposed to be a one time thing, just filling in for a fewhours.
I never expected tobondwith the minimonsters.
I never expected to be this sad aboutleavingthem.
Luca’s voice interrupts my reverie, which is probably a good thing because my eyes are stingingdangerously.
“We tuckered this guy out. He’s exhausted.” His amused gaze lifts from Fenway’s sleeping form up to meet mine. I attempt a smile, but I must not quite pull it off because his brows lift when he catches sight of it. “Youokay?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, mouth twisting. “It’s just really starting to sink in that I’ll be leaving here for good, in a few days. Leaving… everything.” I bite my inner cheek to keep myself in check. “ByeverythingI obviously mean my apartment. Really, how am I ever going to find ceilings that high in a first floor unit ever again? Not to mention rent control! Recessed lighting! Crown moldings! In-unit washer anddryer!”
“And two kids who clearly adore you, living one door down,” he murmurs, seeing straight through to the truth, as always, no matter how hard I try tomaskit.
“I suppose I’ll miss them, too.” My eyes are stinging again. “Whatever.”
“You’ll stillseethem.”
“It won’t be the same, though.” I hold his stare. “None of it will bethesame.”
He watches me carefully for a few seconds. Then, moving so slowly it makes my insides shake, as if he thinks anything quicker will make me bolt like a deer coming face to face with a hunter… he reaches out and cups one large hand around mycheek.
I go completely still as soon as his fingertips make contact. For a few frozen seconds, I do nothing at all beneath his featherlight hold. But then… I pull a sharp breath into my lungs, tilt my head, and lean into his touch so my head is resting inhishand.
It feels like surrender — the same sensation I had weeping into his t-shirt. His eyes flare with heat as they scan my face, so close to his own. Electric volts hum through me, radiating outward from my cheekbone until every square inch of my skin seems to pulse withenergy.
By all accounts, it’s a simple gesture of comfort — his big palm resting on the fragile bones of my face. Nothing erotic. Hell, I was touched more personally by the dental hygienist during my last cleaning. It definitely shouldn’tfeelso…
Intimate.
Yet, inexplicably, it does. Sitting there with him on the kitchen floor, resting my head in his hands, I’m more affected than I want to admit, even to myself. My eyes drift closed at the sensation of his strong fingers on my skin, and without thinking, I lean toward him, drawn to his fortitude like a moth to flame. I’m so tired, so shaken… and he’s so unflinchingly strong. A rock in the ocean, the kind you cling to in hopes of saving yourself from being swept away by theundertow.
I’m so close to him, now, I can feel the puppy’s velvety fur brushing up against my arm every time he takes a breath. Still, it somehow doesn’t feel close enough. For a crazy instant, I consider what it would be like if I cast aside all my hangups, leaned across the divide, and crushed my mouth againstLuca’s.
What would itbelike?
Wonderful. It would be freakingwonderful,Lila.
Or have you already forgotten thisafternoon?
Before I can do something infinitely stupid, like test that theory, I hear the sound of a key turning in the front door. Joyce and Tedarehome.
There isagod.
Luca’s hand drops away as we both scramble to our feet. He lifts the puppy into his arms like a newborn baby. Fenway barely acknowledges the disturbance, except to let out a low,displeasedyap.
How dare you foolish humans interrupt my doggieslumber?
The Macombers sneak into their own home like bandits in the night, as though afraid any noise at all will wake their children. With whispered thanks, they hand me a thick wad of cash and walk us to the door. Joyce, who’s had at least four glasses of wine at dinner, shamelessly mouthsHE’S SO HOT!at me behind Luca’s back while her husband, Ted, grins at his wife and mouths,SHE’S SODRUNK!
I suppress a giggle and shake my head at them as we step over thethreshold.