He was falling for me? I shook my head, trying to right the fantasy. But all I saw was this half-naked, sexy, god of a man standing in my kitchen, making me breakfast. Everything inside me wanted to say yes. God, yes, that I wanted to be with him. But I didn’t have a clue how.

“Alexi, I want you.” I licked my lips nervously. “You’re like this fantasy come to life for me. I’m having a hard time believing this is real. That you exist. That you want me. I—is it okay if I go a little slow? I’ve had crappy instincts for years. I want to be able to trust them again before I jump in with both feet.”

Alexi turned down the stove then flipped the omelet. Slowly, he sauntered over to me with a smile. “Like I said, we’ll take this as slow as you want. I can wait for you to figure out how to trust me.”

“It’s not that at all. I trust you. It’s me I don’t trust.”

“Hush.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s okay. Just know that I care about you. We can figure out the rest as we go.”

“You’re sure about that? Our friends, at least Sophie and Faith, will start dissecting us with a microscope and very sharp scalpel. Can we just keep this between us for now?”

He studied me, his face inscrutable for a long moment. “As long as I get to see you, and I get to be with you, I don’t care if you never tell them.”

As man lotteries went, I’d won the freakin’ jackpot. But I didn't want him thinking I was trying to hide him. “I’ll tell them. I just need to sort through everything first.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Actually, I’m thinking, why don’t we do something out of the ordinary?”

“Like what?”

“Have you been to Paris? We could catch the train, spend the night. Catch a flight back in the morning and I’d have you back before your class.”

Paris? He was kidding right? “You’re not serious.”

He shrugged. “Why not? I could use a trip out of town for a bit. And it is the most romantic city in the world. And I’d love to show you some of my favorite spots. What do you say?”

This was his version of going slow? Except, Paris. The longing to live a fuller, more adventurous life pulled at me. But reality crashed in. I couldn’t exactly afford Paris. If even for a night. “I wish I could, but funds are a little tight right now. I still don’t have a job so it’s not the best idea for me. But I would love to see Paris with you. I’ve never been.”