Was I reading him wrong?

It wouldn’t have been the first time I got it wrong and felt like a fool. But that moment felt different.

The look in his eyes wasn’t the same.

The part of his lips.

The increased intensity of his own chest rising and falling.

“You can’t have my virginity,” I whispered.

It took him a few more breaths to respond. And when he did, it blew my mind.

“What can I have?” he whispered back.

In that most unexpected moment, my foolish, adult teenaged heart cracked open and made room for Fisher Mann. And I immediately wondered how long it took to fall in love.

Years?

Weeks?

Seconds?

Did common sense and timelines rule emotions?

“What do you want?” My words were weak when I wanted—more than anything—to sound brave.

Something so very tiny shifted along his face, like he was smiling without actually smiling. His right hand slid off the wall and cupped my jaw, his thumb teasing my bottom lip that trembled like the rest of me.

“A-are you g-going to kiss me?”

His lips pulled into a hint of amusement. “I was thinking about it.” Fisher’s patience killed me, completely slayed me. It was as if he had to solve the world’s problems in his head before he kissed me.

But I didn’t want to be a problem of the world. I wanted to be the girl—the woman—he kissed on a Monday night for no good reason. Not everything in life needed an explanation. Couldn’t we steal a few seconds, a kiss, without accountability?

“Will you be done thinking about it anytime soo—”

Fisher kissed me.

It wasn’t hard or rushed. It didn’t make me feel inexperienced. And it didn’t feel wrong.

After a few seconds, he pulled back an inch, maybe two. I sucked in a quick breath, and he kissed me again. It was just like the first kiss.

Perfect.

And just like the first one, he pulled back, but this time he smiled. My own smile came to life too, big and embarrassing.

Every imaginable “what-if” dominated my thoughts. What were we doing? Did those two kisses mean the world to me and nothing to him?

Seventy-two hours earlier, he’d been upstairs showing Teagan the house he built. And she loved it. She didn’t question his abilities with a “seriously” because she was too mature for that.

What was he doing kissing me?

“I’m going to shower and grab dinner. I’ll see you in the morning. Five-forty-five?”

I nodded, still wearing that impossibly huge smile.

He disappeared from my bedroom, his footsteps fading as he climbed the stairs.

Chapter Twelve

I didn’t sleep that night. I tried, but I couldn’t sleep after that kiss. Well, those two kisses. It took too long to figure out why he did it. And I never came up with a good explanation.