Page 24

“Graham?”

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. Sleep and then we’ll make dinner and talk.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t the stillness of the room nor the smell of cookies that woke me, but I missed the warmth I’d gotten used to in the last few weeks when it wasn’t beside me anymore. I opened my eyes, breathing out a long breath when the familiar room came into view.

“You slept longer than I expected, but that’s good.”

I turned onto my back and noticed Graham leaning against the headboard, reading something on his phone.

“You didn’t have to stay in here the entire time, but I appreciate you being here as I came back into awareness.”

He held up his cell. “No worries. After you fell asleep, I texted Echo letting her know you were out cold and then your parents, who stopped the twins from coming over. Reo says there’s no guarantee about tomorrow. They’ll want to congratulate you when they see you next. And I’ve been reading. Did you know there is a wide variety of male-male romantic fiction? I downloaded several books and this one I’m reading is fascinating.”

I laughed and stretched, moaning aloud at the satisfying sensation when my back and shoulder popped. “Yeah, I’ve read them for years. They melt my heart into a puddle when they have a wonderful happy ending. Did you get a steamy one?”

“I’ve never read a romance before, but since I’ve experienced you getting off from my touch, which took me over the edge, I would say the book is on point.”

Rather than going back to his reading, he leaned closer and kissed me, a brush of his lips against mine, and I melted. My stomach chose then to embarrass me and rumbled. But instead of being deterred, Graham smiled.

“Let’s go make dinner. What do you feel like tonight?”

“What about a pesto pasta mixed with toasted breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan along with cheesy garlic bread? The herb garden is growing out of control and I need to use the pine nuts before they go bad.”

At his nod, I scrambled out of bed and glanced down. “When did I get naked?”

Graham choked and faced me after he stood. “It’s unfortunate for me you’re not. But you shed your tee and sweats about a half an hour after you fell asleep, mumbling about being hot. You dropped back into bed, all of it without opening your eyes, and started snoring when your head hit the pillow.”

A loud scoff escaped my throat, followed by another one, and then another for good measure. “I… do… not… snore.”

He paused with a smile on his face. And it was then I realized the dramatic change in Graham since he’d come into my life. When I opened the door to the stranger on the other side, I couldn’t have fathomed the connection we shared or it growing into what it was.

It was the modest, everyday occasions when we cooked together, laughed at something stupid we watched, or talked into the night because we craved to learn everything about each other that brought us closer together. Our connection seemed everlasting.

Even in the loud times where Ri and Yu demanded Graham take part in board games and pouted when they lost, where mom and dad tried talking him into moving in with me, believing he wasted his money on rent for the place next door when he spent every night with me, or all the times Echo worked on embarrassing him with inappropriate sex questions or making up new and horrendous nicknames for him, I sensed Graham ingrain himself even more in my life.

I couldn’t imagine living my life without him.

“Okay, you’re freaking me out here. Do you need more sleep before we eat because you’ve shut down in front of me? The reason I’m not rushing you to the hospital is because I can see you breathing. Neko?”

I turned to him and blinked. “I realized something. You’re not planning on leaving, right?”

His brows drew down in confusion, giving me a fierce look that never failed to send my pulse skyrocketing. “Are you asking me to leave?”

Making myself dizzy from the outlandish question that stopped my heart and the force I used when I shook my head, I said, “No! That isn’t what I meant. I wanted… want… Fuck, I’m messing this up. Okay… okay, I’m—”

Not waiting for me as I fumbled with finding the right words, Graham cupped my cheek with his hand, sliding the other one down the naked skin on the side of my torso before snaking his arm around my back and tugging me closer. My breath caught and held when he ducked his head, his rugged and handsome face filling my vision. I exhaled as his sharp gray eyes scanned my face; the purse of his lips, his sharp jaw, the furrowing of his eyebrows, all his thoughtful concentration on me. It was heady.

“Unless you’re asking me to leave, there’s not a force in this universe—”

“No, you leaving is the last thing I want. Graham… shit, why is trying to express what I feel for you so hard. No pun intended, I swear.”

He morphed from a fierce protector willing to fight even me if I had an inkling of doubt about us, to the lovable, sensual man who surprised me into silence when he swallowed me down in the shower.

“What do you want to tell me, sweetheart?”

With great courage and riding on the hope swelling in my chest at his sincere expression, I whispered, “I’m falling for you, Graham, because you’re impossible to resist. I tried to stop myself, with all honesty I did. When you told me about your ex, I lectured myself not to encourage the huge crush I was developing on you, but then we grew closer and I knew it was a lost cause. Yes, I can admit, although it’s been weeks since it happened, I manipulated you into staying over when you mentioned heading next door after our day together. But I’m thrilled you’ve spent every night since next to me, and even though you are closer to me than anyone in my life, I still didn’t allow myself to believe.”