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“Okay, Leo,” I finally said, offering him a small smile. “Let’s enjoy the moment, but…” I paused, searching for the right words. “I think that’s enough for tonight. We can enjoy this, but we need to take it slow.”
His eyes flickered with disappointment, but he didn’t push. “Whatever you want, baby.”
The way he saidbabysent a shiver down my spine. “I forgot you used to call me that,” I whispered, a hint of nostalgia tugging at me.
He reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch sending a flush through me. “You’re my baby,” he said softly, the words tender and filled with so much unspoken history.
I felt a warmth spread through me, and it took all of my willpower not to lean into him again. I really wanted to kiss him more, to let this heat between us take over, but I knew if we went back to my bed, it would be too much, too fast. I needed time to process. “I should get some sleep. I’m assuming Candace will be contacting us tomorrow.”
At the mention of Candace, the reality of everything came crashing back. It was like someone had doused us both with a bucket of cold water.
Leo nodded and took a step back, his expression shifting as he grounded himself in the situation. “I’ll clean up if you want to head back to bed.”
I nodded, but before leaving, I stepped toward him to kiss his cheek quickly. The feel of his skin against my lips lingered. “Goodnight, Leo,” I whispered.
Without waiting for his response, I turned on my heel and fled the kitchen. The cool air of the hallway greeted me as I hurried away, my heart still pounding. I needed to calm down and to take a breath before I completely lost myself in this whirlwind of old emotions.
The house was quiet, and the darkness comforted me as I made my way up the stairs. The soft creak of the floorboards beneath my feet was the only sound in the stillness of the night. I kept walking and my steps grew slower as I reached my bedroom door.
I slipped inside and leaned against the closed door for a moment before letting out a long breath. What had just happened? My thoughts were a tangled mess, and the feel of Leo’s kiss still buzzed on my lips. Everything felt surreal, like wehad bypassed years of unresolved issues and I knew that would come back to bite us. We needed to talk about the past—about what happened twenty years ago—but for now, I just needed to sleep.
I pushed off the door and flung myself onto the bed. The cool sheets were welcoming as I sank into them. My head hit the pillow, and I ran through everything that had just happened. Leo’s touch, his words, his kiss. It was like we had been pulled back into a world we once knew so well but now everything felt different and more intense. And still I couldn’t believe it. We couldn’t just skip over the past. It was going to catch up with us sooner or later.
I sighed and turned to my side while reaching for the lamp on my bedside table. The soft click of the light going off left me in the dark, but I could still feel the lingering tension in my chest. I climbed under the covers, the fabric cools against my skin, and stared up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything.
But no matter how much I tried to sort it all out, my thoughts kept drifting back to Leo. His face, his voice, his kiss. It was like the years between us had melted away in an instant, and all I wanted was to be back in that moment.
I closed my eyes and let the exhaustion finally take over. I slowly drifted off to sleep with Leo on my mind.
Chapter Twelve
Leo
She was trying to drive me crazy; there was no other explanation for it.
I sat at the kitchen table, slowly chewing through a plate of eggs and bacon, but I barely tasted it. My focus was pulled elsewhere. Brynn, sitting next to me, seemed more interested in her yogurt than the conversation around us. She dipped her spoon into the smooth white surface, then lifted it to her mouth, her lips closing around the metal with an infuriating kind of grace.
The spoon left her lips, and she licked it once, then twice, each movement deliberate, slow. I couldn’t look away. Her eyes, hazel and wide, flicked up to meet mine. Something passed between us—electric, heavy. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink that only made her look more irresistible. She knew exactly what she was doing. And damn if it wasn’t working.
Kitty was talking. I could hear her voice buzzing in the background, but none of it registered. I caught words here and there—something about the pond, or maybe it was a new pair of shoes. Hell, it could’ve been about space aliens for all I knew. Nothing was sinking in. Brynn was all I could think about.
Especially after last night.
That kiss in the kitchen… it had set something off between us. She’d been standing so close, looking up at me like she was daring me to make a move. I couldn’t resist. I had pulled her in, our lips crashing together, the taste of her warm and addictive. For those few moments, nothing else mattered—just the feel of her body pressed against mine, the soft sounds she made, the heat between us.
But it had ended too quickly.
Now, sitting here, watching her, I could still feel the ghost of her lips on mine. Every time I caught her eyes, it was like a reminder of what we’d started, and it drove me insane that I couldn’t have more.
“Leo, are you even listening to me?” Kitty’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.
I blinked and turned to her, offering what I hoped was a passable smile. “Sorry, Kitty. What was that?”
She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed, but didn’t seem too surprised. “I was saying you should show Brynn the pond. Since she is going to be here for a bit, she might as well see all of the charm of Wyndemere.”
I nodded absently, my gaze flicking back to Brynn as she took another deliberate lick of her spoon. God, she was tormenting me. Kitty could have been inviting me to an alien abduction, and I would’ve agreed just to end the conversation and refocus on the real distraction in the room.
Princeton sat at the other end of the table, silent as always, his dark eyes flicking from person to person like he was mentally cataloging everything. He seemed to notice where my attention kept drifting because a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. But he said nothing. Just leaned back in his chair and let Kitty prattle on about aliens and the pond.
