And at that moment, I realized what I had just committed to.

Even though it was a cool spring night, we drove back to Boston with the windows down. Caleb’s hand intertwined with mine, resting on my lap once we hit the interstate.

With each mile that passed, I thought of my life just a week ago, where, for dinner one night, Emily and I had shared a sandwich and a cup of soup from the bodega by our apartment. Tonight couldn’t have been further from normal.

Things were changing, and I needed to be prepared for that.

As we pulled up to my building, there weren’t any spots available out front, so he double-parked again.

Since he wasn’t able to get out of the car, I turned to him in the seat, the subtleness of his yummy, woodsy scent still in the air. “Thank you for an amazing night.” I paused as his fingers tightened around mine, making my hand feel so tiny. “It was the best evening I’ve had in a long time.”

“The best?”

It was almost embarrassing to admit this. “You know, for you, dinner is such a small activity, but for someone who doesn’t venture out of the city that often, it was an adventure.”

“Whitney …” He reached forward, cupping my cheek. His mouth then moved closer, stopping inches away. I could taste him in the space between us. “I’ve wanted to do this since the bar.”

“That feels like a lifetime ago.”

Before I even took a breath, his lips were on me. When mine parted, the slowness of his tongue entered, the pressure of his hold opening me. I was inhaling his air, lost in his kiss. In his presence. In the sensations that were swirling through me.

And just as the fire really began to build, he stopped, a grin crossing that sensual, satisfying mouth. “When will I see you again?”

Work was the furthest thing on my mind, so it took me several moments to recall my schedule. “I have the next two days off, and then I’m on for three.”

“Tomorrow night, I’m with a client. How about the following evening?”

The heat was far from leaving my face. “Okay.”

“My place. I’ll text you the address.”

“Thank you again, Caleb.”

I touched my flushed cheeks as I got out of the car, trying to cool them down while I walked into my building, taking the elevator to our floor. When I entered, Emily was on the couch, wrapped in a fuzzy pink robe and matching slippers, a beer in her hand.

“Tell me everything.”

I sat next to her, curling my legs into my chest. “I can’t believe you stayed up.”