stand the idea that I might never get to touch you like that again. It’s one of the few ways I can show you how I feel about you.” He rubbed his face and groaned, lowering his hands to look her in the eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it about sex. Wanting to make love to you again doesn’t prove anything.”
Her heart felt too big for her chest, thumping against her sternum so hard that it reverberated through her entire body. “It proves you’re not repulsed by me.”
He scoffed. “As if.”
Her stomach did a little flip. She considered taking another drink of soda to ease her dry throat, but she wasn’t sure if she was jittery from the conversation or all the caffeine they’d been downing to stay awake. Rising on unsteady legs, she turned her back on Todd and gathered the takeout containers.
Putting them in the trash gave her enough time and distance to regain her bearings and calm herself. She got a glass of water and drank half of it standing in the kitchen, letting the icy liquid slide down her throat and cool her body from within. Leaning her hips against the counter, she took a deep breath and faced him across the room.
“You’re really bad at this,” she said when she could speak again, hoping she sounded more flippant than invested.
“You’re not the only one who’s scared here,” he said, softly.
Damn him. How did he see through her so easily? “Who said I’m scared?”
He gave her a knowing look. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be fighting so hard.”
“What makes you say that?” She set down the glass. If her hand shook, it was only because she was so tired.
“I know, because yesterday I was right where you are now.” He rose from his seat and rounded the breakfast bar, quickly eating up the space between them. Now she really was scared. She was fine as long as he kept his distance, but up close and personal, he had the ability to turn her resolve to dust. “I hope that means tomorrow you’ll be where I am now.”
He stood in front of her, but gripped the granite behind him the same way she was now hanging onto the edge of the counter to keep herself from doing something regrettable, like throwing her arms around his neck and confessing her love.
“I haven’t known you long enough to know which of your habits will irritate me,” he said, with a sad smile, returning to their original topic. “But it doesn’t matter. Everyone has those. It’s about choosing whose annoying habits you want to live with. I want to learn yours, and show you mine, because I’m betting you and I are so good together that all the little shit will be irrelevant.” He moved in close enough that she could feel the heat from his body, smell the soap on his skin. “I’m sorry I hadn’t figured that out last night. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Her breath caught in her throat, making it impossible to speak.
Todd filled the silence for her. “I don’t know how we’re going to work this out yet, but if we want it badly enough, I know we’ll find a way. You’re worth the risk, Lindsey. You’re worth all of it.”
Lindsey rose in the dark after a night of fitful sleep. Todd had insisted he take the couch so she wouldn’t feel pressured. She was both grateful and slightly irritable about it. Maybe he’d known depriving her of his warm body would only make her want him more. Or maybe he understood that if she gave in now, she’d never trust the decision.
Showing her that he valued their relationship over sex went a long way toward convincing her that he really was in love.
Her chest fluttered.
But Megan was still out there, still a threat, and they still didn’t have a plan to stop her.
Even hours later, after a long flight to Virginia, Lindsey hadn’t managed to come up with any brilliant schemes. She’d slept nearly the entire trip, and her dreams had been an unproductive mix of lust and terror.
According to Todd, he lived about ten miles due south of the airport, but heavy afternoon traffic meant she spent an hour enjoying the view of pine and leafy trees that lined much of the highway, not yet touched by fall. It was so much greener than home. For some reason she’d imagined the busy suburbs of DC would have sparse vegetation, but