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3. One time, just once, being smarter than StellaNova.
I can’t share the reason why, but because Arek Ronan owes me, I’m cashing in. This guy is going to see Beckett Miller and Brendan Blake play at the American Music Awards!
—Viego Martinez, Celebrity Blogger
I hold Fallon close to my chest as she rests, her breath evening out after our last round of making love, and admit to myself that’s exactly what it was—making love. I refuse to lie to myself any longer.
But I can’t outrun the doubts that creep in when I’m not connected to her body, doubts my brother pointed out early in my relationship with her but I already knew.
“How can you pursue Fallon when you can’t give her your full heart?”
Rolling to my back, I keep her body pressed against my length even as my other arm raises to my forehead. I stare up at the shadows shifting across the ceiling as the trees dance outside Fallon’s bedroom window.
I wish the night sky and the gods that roam through them could give me insight into the future, if not answers to the questions my heart has. But as hours pass, I lay there with Fallon’s breath wafting across my chest, forcing my mind to subdue my emotions spiraling out of control. Even with as much as I love Fallon, I need to pursue her slow and steady to ensure I stack the deck against our age difference and the distance between us each day.
When we finally conquer it, I’ll never let her go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SEVEN VIRTUES, NORTH CAROLINA
Unexplained weight loss should be discussed with your doctor. While it’s normally nothing to be alarmed about, it may require adjusting some medication. You always want to be your healthiest you.
—Fab and Delish
“There isn’t a big enough word to describe what he makes me feel,” I admit to my mother as we eat lunch at Blue Ridge Brews & Bites. I sip at their seasonal pumpkin ale before leaning forward to swipe a bite of pepper through their sunflower hummus before letting out a moan of pleasure.
My mother, amused, asks, “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?”
I still, just as I was about to pop another bite into my mouth. “What the hell would make you ask that?”
She inclines her head in my direction. “You’re devouring our appetizer like it’s our last meal.”
My face flames. “Well, umm…you see.” How do I tell my mother my boyfriend—if that’s what I call him?—wouldn’t let me out of bed long enough to down a few bites of food and drink a bottle of water.
Still, as the dawn burst across the morning sky and I studied his profile in the shadows of my bed, the peace that consumed me was immediate. Food was an easy sacrifice for having Ethan in my heart, in my bed.
“What are you daydreaming about over there, sweetheart?” Mama questions.
Pulled from my reverie, I grin. “One guess.”
She opens her mouth but before she can ask me anything, our mains are delivered. I happily dig into my cheeseburger and relish the burst of flavor from the fire-grilled meat as it hits my tastebuds. After wolfing down a few bites, I notice my mother hasn’t touched her salad. “Is there something wrong with your meal, Mama?”
A wan smile creases her lips. “Just not hungry, sweetheart.”
I frown, even as my burger hits the plate. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing that can’t wait. I want to hear everything about Ethan,” she encourages me.
“Ask away,” I offer.
For the next little while she does. Then she asks me a curious question. “What would you give up to have him in your life?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a lot riding on your relationship whether it succeeds or if it fails, Fallon. Do you stay in Seven Virtues? Do you take a job somewhere else? Does your relationship with Austyn have the same dynamic? What if you end up married to Ethan?”
I smirk. “I’d be her Aunt Fallon.”