Page 126 of Carry On

We touched a little too deeply into conversations about my life—things I didn’t share with anyone—but I let myself crack open for him. I gave him all the bad that came with the good he insisted he saw in me. I wanted him to have that part of me.

And by the time we were home, I was too ramped up and incapable of sleeping if I tried.

“I can’t remember the last time I stayed out this late,” Lincoln announced while he moved through the condo. I caught him by the arm and pulled him back to me. I kissed him, slow and sweet, savoring him.

“Watch the sunrise with me,” I suggested.

“I… don’t think I’ve ever watched the sunrise,” he said.

“You’re missing out on the finer things in life, baby,” I told him. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, and his lips brushed over my pulse, making it race a little faster.

“You’re definitely going to have to find a way to keep me up, Lucky,” he whispered against my skin, “because there’s no way in hell I’m staying up otherwise.”

“I can think of a few things we can do to pass the time.”

“Good.” Before he could say another word, I lifted him off the ground just enough to draw a yelp out of him, the sound making me laugh. “There’s no need to manhandle me!”

“There’s always a need to manhandle you, Linc,” I retorted as I walked us toward his bedroom with a laundry list of ways to keep him occupied running through my mind.

CHAPTER 82

LINCOLN

I’mnotmadetowatch the fucking sun rise,” I muttered into my coffee mug.

“I’m sorry,” Nash apologized through a yawn. I was wildly envious of his ability to stay home. I wanted to be in comfy clothes with a long nap in sight. What I wouldn’t have given to stay home in bed with him all day.

“I’m not,” I admitted honestly. While I was exhausted from staying up all night with him, it was the best date I’d ever had. And for the first time, I felt like we were turning a corner. Nash was letting me in, sharing pieces of himself I thought I’d never see. This multifaceted man was built of so many complex and beautiful layers. I was honored that he was peeling them back for me. “It was a perfect night, and they invented espresso for a reason.”

I raised my mug in his direction in a silent offer, but he shook his head.

“Don’t drink too much caffeine, okay?” he replied. “Or at least balance it out with some water in there, will you?”

“Mmm…” I hummed as I thought about it a little too pointedly. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

“Anyway.” I set the mug down on the counter and moved across the condo toward him. “I won’t be home until later tonight. We have an office meeting to go over some sort of bullshit.”

“Sounds so exciting.” His fingers curled around the back of my neck, and he kissed me. I circled his waist and leaned into him, enjoying the soft way in which his mouth moved against mine.

“I love you, Lincoln,” Nash whispered.

He what?

I faltered, my eyes flying open to meet his. My brain struggled to wrap around the words he’d just said. A familiar panic ebbed its way into my chest as I tried to come up with the best way to reply.

“It’s okay, baby. I don’t expect to hear you say it back.”

“Nash…” His name was about the only thing I could get out. He kissed me again before I could say more, a little harder and a little more intense.

“Loving someone is an honor, but to be loved in return should never be the expectation for the words,” he said. “Everyone feels it differently, and everyone should say it when they’re ready. I just want you to know how I feel, Lincoln. That’s all.”

“Okay,” I murmured, nodding slowly. His lips touched mine in a slow and gentle kiss, one full of all sorts of unsaid things. And I could feel it. HisI love youwas the tip of the iceberg that encompassed what he couldn’t put into words.

Somehow, that notion was terrifying.

It was one thing to know that I loved him, but something completely different to know that I was loved in return.