CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErJ4wT8l7r
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9imIFwhdg
His hands were still gentle.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFoRvMYS47
Still slow.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4snErzlRk
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAeHA36Jcp
But she felt it.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNE03vtp9P
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiKYt85ifZ
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNe2GEgTZG
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZi5d3mkaZ
Said something about needing to “review files.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4MmfgpCy4
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGnZkaZeft
Didn’t ask her what she wanted for dinner.
And yet, he looked at her like she was his air.
It was confusing as hell.
She spent the rest of the day pacing in her apartment.
Staring at her phone.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmpDey4gkV
Checking if he’d text.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GPzNwJgdg
Telling herself not to overthink.
But every woman who’s ever been loved and then unloved knows this feeling.
That gut-level ache.
By nightfall, she was in front of his clinic.
No appointment.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRFFy6mPkj
No plan.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGvH2TvhR4
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51NYMp2Rey
Surprised.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVYOFXybVr
Shirt slightly damp.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs6Hzi8JM4
Hair tousled.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XabJ39xn7
Eyes tired.
But his lips curved. “You’re here.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” she said softly.
“Neither could I,” he whispered.
He let her in.
She stepped close.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XRSxQ65w7
Tugged gently at his shirt.
“I want you to kiss me,” she said. “But this time…”
He looked down at her, brows furrowing.
“…kiss me like you’re not hiding something.”
Silence.
His jaw tensed.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrtCd1Oy7W
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMS9GtcFnvy
It was slow.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDivpARfmja
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYQsK78Mmv
Felt how tightly he was holding back.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RSiW5X3DM
Felt how scared he was to give in.
When he pulled away, her eyes were wet.
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
He didn’t deny it.
“What are you afraid of, Matteo?”
His answer came barely above a whisper:
ns216.73.216.238da2“That if you knew everything…37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6xdylbBQO
you’d never kiss me again.”
