Page 57 of Yours, For Good

"And let the rest amaze you."

I continued to smile as I studied her face. Those thick lashes. A brilliant smile. Warm eyes I could get lost in. But the idea of her and me was nothing more than a hologram I couldn't touch.

Kissing her was a forbidden dream.

I sighed. "I owe you an answer. We made a deal about it, remember?"

She nodded, just as the library door opened behind me.

I ignored it. "Gratefulness is good for the spirit. If someone is thankful, they have every right to express it. I'm thankful I'm getting to know you, and I wouldn't want to hide it."

Her lips parted as she processed my words.

"Uncle Javier?"

I tracked Nora's face for a while longer, but eventually turned to my niece.

"Here you are," Julia added. "I thought I heard… laughter?"

"I know. Shocking in this house, isn't it?" I asked.

Nora laughed. We went back downstairs and soon after I took my leave.

Walking down the streets of the Upper East Side at night shouldn't have felt like I strolled on the moon. That's why that night in my bed, I spent a few hours awake pondering on the limits of my feelings.

Chapter 22

Nora

"THAT'S MORE LIKE HIM." Julia's eyes followed Javier as he left the library.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Julia, Sally, and I hovered near the library's doors. We didn't bother to find a spot on the sofas in the room; it was getting late, and we would likely retire to our beds soon.

"I'm used to seeing him rushing to leave." Julia's exquisitely manicured eyebrow raised in an elegant arch. "It was strange seeing him smiling so much this evening. Well, more than usual for him, in any case."

I noticed his typical gesture of amusement— his mouth tilting up in one corner. It reminded me of popcorn, with the way it popped suddenly and brightened the evening. In my experience, it wasn't that infrequent.

Huh… did he smile like that at other times, when I wasn't around? When it was him and me, sometimes I made him belly laugh.

I didn't get to question it further. Sally's narrowed eyes landed on me.

The line of her mouth turned playful. "What I really want to know is, is there something between you two?"

"Yeah…" While I meant for my voice to sound humorous, my stomach dropped when I heard the dreaminess braided into the word.

Sally's eyes widened. Julia paled.

"Relax!" I faked a dismissive laugh. "We're friends, that's what I meant."

"I wouldn't try for more," Julia said. "He is headstrong and determined to remain a bachelor. He's an introvert that spends most of his time alone at home, as far as we can tell. It has been years since he introduced anyone to the family—"

Sally giggled. "Can you imagine having to call Nora, Auntie?"

Julia paled further but continued as if Sally hadn't said anything. "The family believes he was engaged once and it ended poorly. He never recovered, Eleanora."

Something flipped in my chest, but I concealed it behind a shrug. "Fun anecdote. Not relevant."