Page 67 of The Donor’s Dilemma

Maybe she could guilt the truth out of him. Rolling over in bed, she watched the screen, watched as he typed, and typed, and typed. Long message? Was he going to tell her more, or was he just rewriting, trying to come up with a convincing lie?

When the message finally came through, Verity read it over and over until the words sank in.

Of course there's more. The moment

I met you I knew there was more,

but I don't think it's a good idea

to explore that while Abe's still

a problem

Her thumb shook as she typed her reply.

And once he's gone?

She re-read the messages. She meant Cliffhaven, she couldn’t stop thinking about Cliffhaven. And he meant her, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Her heart fluttered, a stupid grin spreading across her face as she read.

Once he's gone we can talk.

Talk?

Try?

If that's what you want?

Of course, that’s what she wanted! What she’d been begging for these past weeks. To try, that was all she could ask for.

Sounds like a plan

Good

Go to sleep

She stared at the screen, grin plastered across her face. Sleep? How was she supposed to sleep now? Her heart was racing, her mind spinning with possibilities. They were going to try. Actually try. Not pretend, not for show, real.

As she set her phone down, pulling the covers up around her smiling cheeks, exhaustion finally caught up with her. And then she felt it, felt him, his cool arms around her, his steady breathing against her hair, the safety of his embrace. An embrace that wasn’t the one off she had taken it for, but the first of many.

Maybe she could sleep after all.

“I need to get me some of that pep in my step,” Cora demanded as she slapped Verity’s arse hard enough that more than one customer turned their heads.

Verity flinched, snapping upright from the table she was bent over cleaning. “Ow,” she moaned, rubbing her rear. “What?”

Cora laughed. “You! In a world of your own! When do I get to meet him?”

Going back to cleaning, Verity searched for an excuse. Her friend had been asking more and more, and Verity’s insistence that they were taking it slow had been thwarted by the fact her mum had told Cora she'd stayed over again.

Pair of gossiping traitors.

“We just don’t want to rush things. It’s kinda like dating a colleague, with all the donor meetings and that. We want to be careful.”

Cora hummed. “If you say so. I just wanna meet the guy putting that dopy look on your face.”

“Don’t.” Verity scowled, but she knew it was true.