Page 104 of Face Off With Fate

Knowing that somehow made the decision harder.

My body tingled, nerves coiling tight beneath my skin.

His blue eyes moved over my face, patient and searching, the harsh line of his mouth softer than I was used to. The pull to lean up and press my lips to the corner of it had been building for weeks. And, standing here, I couldn’t pretend anymore that it had anything to do with how attractive he was.

That was the part that scared me most.

Surface-level attraction, I knew how to handle. I’d been handling it for years. Keeping things easy and uncomplicated, keeping people at exactly the distance where they couldn’t do any real damage. But everything that pulled me toward Monroe lived somewhere underneath that.

Tempting me to get within heartbreak range.

There were so many things I loved.

The way he showed up for Goldie without a second thought. The way he cared for the few he let in. The way he was looking at me right now…

I licked my lips.

No. Keep things easy, Graciella. Safe.

I could feel what I used to think was the smarter version of myself standing outside this stairwell, arms crossed, already composing the lecture.

His thumb still moved in a slow, steady arc behind my ear. His eyes hadn’t left mine.

No kept disappearing somewhere between my brain and my mouth, never making it all the way out.

Probably because my heart knew the real answer.

THIRTY-FOUR

MONROE

“HAVE YOU BEEN—” I WON’T SPOIL THE LINE, BUT IT’S SO FUCKING HOT WHEN HE SAYS THIS.

Blood pumped in my ears.

Every second felt like an hour, waiting on pins and needles for her decision. I was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off her skin, to count her eyelashes if I wanted to—and god help me, part of me wanted to. I wanted to know everything about her.

The urge to stroke her cheek and to pull her in and just kiss her pressed against my ribs from the inside. But I didn’t move.

Every muscle in my body ached from holding myself back. From giving her the space I knew she needed.

Graciella’s eyes flashed with something, and my heart plummeted to my feet. She wasn’t ready. She was going to pull away, put that wall back between herself and anything that scared her.

My chest ached, but I couldn’t say it was a surprise. Just because I’d finally gotten out of my own way and figured out what I wanted didn’t mean she felt the same.

Fine.

She could run. I was good at chasing down what I wanted.

I brought my thumb to the corner of her mouth, grazing the soft edge of her lips. Just to feel it one last time before she stepped back and rebuilt her barriers, locking me on the outside of the fortress around her heart.

I started to pull away, but her fingers closed around my wrist, pressing my palm back against her cheek, and then—fuck—that pink tongue of hers traced the path my thumb had just made.

“I like to sleep with a lot of pillows.” Her smile was soft yet confident.

My brain took a minute to comprehend what she was saying. When it finally caught up, the pressure sitting on my chest eased, and my lungs could finally take a full inhale.

“I think I can arrange for that,” I said, my hand refusing to let her go.