Page 83 of Tangled Hearts

I laugh, striding across the room and sitting down beside him on the couch. “We can go somewhere else. We both own vehicles. You do know that, right?”

His mouth gapes open, his eyes lighting up in understanding. “I think I see what you’re saying. Like we can go somewhere that no one knows us?”

I wink at him. “Now you’re getting it.”

He jumps up so quick he almost trips over the sweats he’s wearing—mysweats. I should have known he was going to steal them from me. With the amount of time he’s eyed them over the last couple of weeks, it should have been painfully obvious. “I’m gonna change. How do you want me to dress?”

“However you want, doll. You’re gonna look fucking stunning no matter what.”

His cheeks flush, but he nods and turns on his heel, rushing off to his bedroom. While he’s changing, I do the same. I’m not sure that I own anything as fancy as some of Eli’s clothes, but I can at least put on a nice shirt and my best pair of jeans. I finish it off with my combat boots before heading back to the living room to wait.

When Eli steps into the living room, all the air rushes from my lungs. The jeans he’s wearing are indecent, hugging every inch of his legs. His stomach is exposed, his tight shirt clinging to his lightly muscled frame. The cherry on top, though, is my leather jacket, hanging off him in a way that looks indecent instead of oversized. He didn’t go all out with his makeup, but his lashes are sky-high and the shimmer on his cheeks has him glowing.

“Wow,” I breathe.

He does a little spin. “Yeah? You like it?” he asks, all faux innocence and charm.

I roll my eyes. “You know I do, doll. I told you the jacket looks better on you than on me.”

His lips curve into a smirk before he bites down on the bottom one. “Where are we going?”

“About an hour away, there’s a restaurant right on a lake. The views look amazing. I figured we could grab dinner and go for a walk.”

Eli’s smile almost knocks me out. “Okay. Sounds perfect. Ready to go?”

Eli’s eyes are sparkling. It’s stunning.He’sstunning. And it hits me all over again how fucking much it sucks that we have to hide. He deserves more than this.

But for now, it’s all I can offer. All we can have. So I reach over and take his hand as we start walking. “It’s pretty, huh?” Eli asks, his gaze falling on the lake.

“Yeah,” I croak, not taking my eyes off him. “Gorgeous.”

He catches me staring and shoves at my side with a laugh. “Asshole.”

“Damn. Compliment a guy and he wants to beat you up.” I raise an eyebrow, smiling at him.

He rolls his eyes, then rests his head on my shoulder as we keep walking. “This was a really nice date. I’ve never been on a date, obviously. The food was alittle fancy for me.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You got beef wellington. I’m not sure it counts as fancy.”

He shudders. “How was I supposed to know it had mushrooms in it? It looks so good in all the videos I’ve seen of it.” Eli makes a disgusted sound that has me grinning. “Note to self: Ask if food has mushrooms.”

“Mine was good,” I muse, pressing a kiss to Eli’s head. “Before someone stole it from me.”

“Sacrifices had to be made, Nicolas.”

I’d sacrifice everything for him. Every single thing in my life. I drop my hand to loop my arm around his waist and pull him against my side. It slows us down a little, but that’s alright.

We walk along the path in silence. It’s not a bad silence. It’s quiet and comfortable. Settled. It feels lived in. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this way in my entire life.

There’s a bench up ahead, nestled between some trees, so I gesture to it. “Wanna sit with me for a while?”

“Sounds good.”

We make our way over to it, and I sit down, pulling Eli into my lap. He buries his face against my throat and exhales deeply. I slide a hand up his back. His skin is warm and soft beneath my fingertips.

“I’ll be happy when we don’t have to hide anymore,” he whispers.

“Yeah.” My throat tightens. “Me too, baby.”