He ran a hand through his hair and looked away for half a second, gathering himself.
Then his eyes came back to mine.
Steady this time.
Sure.
“Do you know what happened back there?” he asked quietly.
I frowned.
“At the carousel?”
He nodded.
“I looked at you, and it just…” He let out a breath, almost like he hated how helpless he sounded. “It clicked.”
My throat tightened.
“What clicked?”
His eyes searched mine like he needed me to understand before he even said it.
“That this isn’t temporary for me.”
Every nerve in my body lit up.
“That this isn’t some high school thing I’ll laugh about one day or screw up and pretend I didn’t mean.” His voice roughened. “That you aren’t just someone I like being around.”
He stepped closer.
And closer.
Until his hand came up and touched my
