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"Yes? Yes." She stood up and stepped back. "There's no way. We have a daughter. We can't try to date and then have it not work out. How would that work? It wouldn’t, because we'd have to keep in touch over Gabby, and it would be awkward and difficult." Her heart started to pound as he stood up, unfolding his long, muscular body from the chair. "You don't even know me. I don't know you. There's no us, and—"
He laid his hand on her cheek.
A gentle touch. Barely there. Brushing over her skin like a caress. But he stole the words from her lips, leaving her in silent, breathless anticipation.
"You remember when I dashed out in front of that truck to heroically save your life?"
His hand was still on her face, warm, gentle, mesmerizing. "I vaguely recall that moment."
"Well, the reason I was there, was because I'd been following you an hour, ever since I saw you talking to a homeless person. You were funny and warm, asking him how his evening was, and making him smile. You lit up the world, and from that moment, I was yours."
Her heart turned over at his confession. "I don't remember that specifically, but I do make sure to talk people who might feel invisible. No one should ever feel invisible." Even now she did it. It mattered to her, and she liked that it mattered to him. "I like people. They have stories. They're interesting."
"And you make them feel like they're interesting." His thumb slid along her cheek, right next to her lips. "You make people feel seen, people who go through life invisible. I was that guy. Invisible. Until you."
She swallowed. "Keegan—"
"I wanted to meet you, but I wasn't about to scare you by approaching you, because I knew that I was nothing more than a rough street kid. So I followed you to make sure you were safe." He gave a half-smile. "And then fate intervened, and I got to meet you." His eyes darkened. "And then I got to know you. And then I got to kiss you. You remember that?"
Oh, Lordy. The way he'd said "kiss" made her remember all sorts of hot and delicious things about him. "By the fountain."
"By the fountain," he agreed. He slid his other hand along her jaw. "I had my hands framing your face this way, as I'd been wanting to do since we met. And then I waited, certain you were going to push me away, expecting you to give me a hard stop. But you didn't."
Her heart was racing now. "No, I didn't," she whispered.
"And what about right now? I've been waiting. Giving you time. You're not pushing me away."
She swallowed. "You can't possibly want to kiss me right now."
"I most definitely want to kiss you right now. How would you feel about that?"
"It doesn't make sense," she whispered, even as she lifted her face to his, searching his blue eyes for answers, for clarity. If she didn't have Millie in her arms, she had a feeling that her arms would already be around his neck, dragging him down to her. "I feel exactly the same way as I did when we met, drawn to you like I can't live without you. It makes no sense."
"It makes perfect sense. Yes, our lives are different than they were back then. We're older. More complicated. But our souls are still the same. We still are who we are, and I've been looking for you for the last seventeen years."
Her heart caught. "That's such a line."
"It's not a line if it's true." He paused. "This is your last chance, Sascha. Your last chance to tell me that you don't want me to kiss you like we were eighteen years old again."
She caught her breath…and said nothing.
And when that heart-warming smile flashed across his handsome face, she knew that he wasn't playing her. "Oh, God," she whispered. "I'm so sure this is a terrible idea."
"All the more reason to do it, seems to me."
Then he drew her in, and kissed her, just like he had so many years ago.
But as perfect as that one had been, this one was a thousand times the magic, the sensations, the perfection.
Maybe it was because of all the years they'd both lived.
Maybe it was because she'd long ago stopped hoping for a kiss like this.
Or maybe it was because he had just become a lot better at kissing.
Regardless, it was a kiss she never wanted to end.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
