Page 54 of The Truths We Find

But I can’t. I have to respect her boundaries. She’s with someone, and no matter how much I hate the man, I won’t cross that line.

Forcing myself to look away from her green eyes is agony—they have a way of making me forget everything except the pull between us—but I know I have to. I have to hold back, no matter how much it hurts.

“Are you okay?” she asks. “You asked me to dance, but now you seem like you would rather be anywhere but here. Do you want to go back to the table?”

“You heard Alexa. We need to stay here so we don’t lose our dancing spot,” I say, keeping my gaze on a random wall in the room.

“Gavin, is there a reason you won’t look at me all of a sudden? You were fine before.”

“That’s because Alexa was here.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Let’s just dance.”

“Oh! I see what this is. You do have a thing for Alexa, don’t you?”

What?

My forehead scrunches. Where did she get an idea like that? But I keep my focus on the wall.

“I knew there was something,” she laughs. “You helping us put the special together. Insisting you come this weekend. It was all to get close to Alexa.”

Hearing those words come out of her mouth sends my mind into a frenzy. I turn my head and lean in close, our foreheads almost touching. I take a heavy breath, trying to understand how she could be so wrong. How she could look at me and see that instead of what’s been right in front of her all along.

“Dani—” My voice is edged with disbelief. “It’s not Alexa I want.”

Her name feels wrong in my mouth, like it doesn’t belong anywhere near this moment. Near us. I search her eyes, hoping she’ll see the truth there. “I don’t know why you’d think that,” I add, shaking my head slightly. “I never gave you a reason to believe I’d want anyone else. Especially not her.”

I lift my hand and brush my thumb along her cheek, the softness of her skin undoing me instantly. My dick gives an eager twitch behind my zipper, and I don’t care if she notices. When a faint shiver ripples through her, I take it as my cue.

Screw being the good guy, a reckless voice in my head urges. Then the other one cuts in just as fast. She has a boyfriend. The reminder should stop me. It should be enough. Instead, it only makes the moment feel heavier.

My hand slips to her chin, tilting her face up to mine. She closes her eyes for a moment, and when she opens them again, those emerald-green eyes have me locked in place. Our mouths hover inches apart, close enough that I can feel her breath. I search her gaze, silently asking, is this okay?

A small smile forms on her lips, inviting me to close the gap between us.

The moment my mouth brushes hers, the world falls quiet. I didn’t know a kiss could feel like this. So full of heat, yet wonderfully soft. Dani’s arms slide around my neck, pulling herself to me. When she parts her lips, welcoming me closer, every instinct screams yes.

And just when I want her most—before I can deepen the kiss I’ve desperately craved—my mind finally catches up.

“Dani. I’m so sorry,” I pant, pulling away.

“For what?”

“This isn’t fair to you. You’re drunk, and I told myself that as much as I hate the guy, I would never do something like this to you and Sam.”

She smiles and shakes her head.

“What?” I ask.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I have too much respect for you.”

Dani closes the gap between us once again and says the words I never thought I would hear her say. “Gavin—” She pauses. “I want you.”

Time stops. My mind’s scrambling to catch up, and my blood’s running hot. Every nerve in me is screaming, finally, finally, finally.