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‘That would be nice if I wasn’t so hungry. The schweinebauch and mash wasn’t enough to fill me for days, and all I have here is tea, coffee, milk and wine.’

I drop a kiss on her shoulder. ‘I guess I’m pretty hungry, too.’

‘I’m going for a shower.’ She hops out of bed and crosses the room.

My eyes skim her torso, over the curve of her hip, across the soft roundness of her arse and down her delicious thighs. I let out a low wolf whistle.

She glances over her shoulder and gives me a coy smile. ‘You’re not joining me?’

I rush after her, grabbing a tiny container of hair product from my jacket pocket on the way.

She quirks a brow. ‘Someone thought they were getting lucky.’

I give her a knowing grin. ‘Says you with the bedside mood lighting.’

She laughs and pulls me into the shower.

Chapter 21

Casey, Berlin

Almost two hours later, after a stop by my hotel room for a change of clothes, we’re sitting at a café off Münzstrasse sharing eggs, sausages and French toast with brown butter.

Holly leans back in her chair and stretches her legs, bare from the mid-thigh. ‘I feel amazing.’

‘You’ve had about four brain-shattering orgasms in the past twelve hours. I’m not surprised.’ I smirk and take a bite of French toast.

Her face splits into a grin, and she has a lovely shimmery glow about her. ‘Is that what it is?’

I nod, my mouth full. ‘Mmhmm.’

‘What about you?’ she asks, leaning over to get some French toast for herself.

‘I had about five.’

She chuckles. ‘I mean, how do you feel?’

I run my hand up her thigh, my fingertips slipping under the hem of her denim skirt. ‘Incredible.’ I want to say more, tell her how my heart is pounding, how I feel complete in a way I haven’t since I first met her, but the words catch in my throat.

She narrows her eyes. ‘What are you thinking? You look like you want to say something.’

I gaze at her for a long moment. ‘Just how lovely you are. Natural. I like that.’ I can’t help but compare her to Eva, who’d grunt about eating greasy eggs and fat sausages, and who would’ve spent hours preening herself before going out, then be glued to her phone or filming herself. There’s none of that with Holly. She just has an enthusiasm and curiosity for everything around her, like she’s rediscovering herself and life after being tied down the past decade. ‘How about you?’ I ask. ‘What are you thinking?’

She takes the last bite of sausage and considers me while she chews. She swallows and pushes the plate away. ‘You really want to know?’

‘Erm … I think so?’

‘I was thinking that life has put us together twice now, and that’s fate. Being in the same city at the same time is fate. Thinking about each other at the same time is fate. So we owe it to ourselves to give this longer than two weeks and to not disappear from each other’s lives when it gets too hard.’

My brows rise. ‘Wow. Okay. I thought you were going to say you wanted another coffee or something.’

She shrugs. ‘I can’t wonder about what-ifs anymore. In a way, you ruined me for everyone else, and I’ve found you again. I’m sorry if that’s too much for you, but I’m thirty-one; I want to find my person. And maybe you’re it and maybe you’re not, but the way I feel right now is that I want to at least try to work out what you are. So please, please don’t run away from me this time.’

I blink at her.

She cocks her head. ‘Anything to say to that?’

‘Um. Ditto.’