It was so easy to forget the ugliness of his reality when she was with him.

They spent the next hour watching the rest of the movie, and with absolutely no effort at all, she managed to claim another piece of his heart. The way she fiddled with the hem of his shirt without even realizing she was doing it. The way her hair smelled like spring with a little bit of coconut mixed in. The way the sound of her laugh made him laugh, even when he didn’t think anything was funny.

And by the time the credits rolled, he couldn’t resist anymore.

Danny used the tips of his fingers to brush the hair away from her forehead before he trailed them down over her cheek, and she lifted her eyes, looking up at him. He moved in slowly, and he heard her breath catch just as the end of his nose touched hers.

And then he stopped.

Her terms. It needs to be on her terms.

“Leah,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

He watched her throat bob before she murmured, “What?”

Danny lifted his chin so that their mouths were only centimeters apart before he whispered, “Can I?”

For a moment the world seemed to stop.

And then she nodded.

His mouth was on hers before she’d even finished, and she instantly leaned into him, surrendering her mouth as she allowed him to control the kiss.

He concentrated on keeping his lips gentle, parting them slightly and brushing them over hers, and she followed his lead, kissing him back with cautious reverence that made it feel like tiny flints were igniting in his veins.

It was too chaste to be dangerous, but far too sensual to be innocent.

He pulled away as soon as he felt his control slipping, and she immediately rested her head back on the pillow, exhaling shakily before she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “You’re good at that.”

Danny smiled, blinking up at the ceiling. “I think we’re good at that.”

She ran her hands up into her hair and let out a puff of breath. “I think it’s time to take you back to your car.”

Danny nodded, raking his teeth over his bottom lip. “I think you’re right.”

They both lay there, unmoving, until Leah said, “Ten more minutes of cuddles. That’s it. And then we go.”

His lip slid out from between his teeth as he smiled. “As you wish,” he said, and she whipped her head toward him.

“Did you just quote The Princess Bride?”

“I did.”

She stared at him for a second before she curled back into his side. “Fine. Twenty minutes,” she said as she rested her head on his chest, twisting the hem of his shirt between her fingers.

Danny smiled into her hair. “Twenty minutes,” he repeated, knowing that if she asked him right now, he’d give her every single minute he had left.

“Wow,” Robyn said as she fell back against Leah’s couch.

“No shit,” Holly added.

“I know.”

“I’m excited,” Robyn beamed, and Holly sighed.

“I’m nervous.”

“Well, I’m both,” Leah said, “so I guess that works.”

Holly nibbled on the side of her thumbnail. “Slow, Leah. You need to go very, very slow.”

“She knows that,” Robyn said. “Don’t be condescending.”

“I’m not being condescending, I’m being cautious. I mean, he openly admitted he’s harboring some huge secret. That’s already starting off behind the eight ball, don’t you think?”

“Okay, but at least he told her about it, even if he’s not ready to talk about it yet. If he were some kind of shady bastard, he wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Guys, stop,” Leah interrupted. “Holly, I hear what you’re saying, and I’m gonna go slow with him. It’s just…” She shook her head. “I wish I could explain it without sounding like an idiot, but there’s something about him. He’s genuine. I can feel it in my bones.”

It was quiet for a beat before Holly said, “You also thought Scott was genuine.”

“Holly!” Robyn barked, and Leah dropped her eyes as Holly covered her face with both hands.

“I’m sorry, Leah. I just meant that—”

“No, it’s okay,” Leah said, her eyes still trained on her lap. “You’re right. I know you’re right. But this time…everything just feels different. I can’t explain it.”

And she couldn’t explain it. All she knew was that she felt oddly connected to Danny. There was something about him that spoke to a long-forgotten part of her—that awakened something dormant in her soul and made her want things again.

Ever since that first day at the Cheesecake Factory, something had changed for her. It was as if letting her guard down with him had somehow shaken her foundation, and every layer of resistance and detachment she’d built up for the past two years had crumbled in on itself. And instead of panicking—instead of scrambling to pick up the pieces and rebuild—she found herself wanting to kick the debris away and breathe in everything around her.

Every conversation, every interaction with him, freed her a little more.

It was there even in the little things, like the way her body reacted to the timbre of his voice, or the simplest of his touches. The way seeing him in pain caused a lump in her throat, like she was the one hurting. Her connection to him felt mature, as if it was something that had existed long before she had felt it or acknowledged it.

What happened between them that morning only reinforced it; she had confessed her biggest disgrace, her most humiliating regret, only to have him wrap her in his arms without even flinching at her offense. Like he had known all along and had already forgiven her.

She could try to explain it to Holly and Robyn, but Leah knew they wouldn’t understand. Hell, she didn’t even really understand. But that didn’t make it any less real for her.

Holly moved from her spot on the floor, crawling over to where Leah sat on the couch before she rested her head in her lap. “I’m sorry. You know me and my big mouth love you and are just looking out for you.”

Leah smiled, running her hand over the back of Holly’s hair. “I know. And I will go slow. I promise.”

Holly lifted her head, smiling at Leah before she hopped to her feet. “Okay, should we put the movie in now? Ryan Gosling is shirtless in this, so like seriously, what the fuck are we waiting for?”

Leah and Robyn laughed as Holly walked over to the DVD player with the movie. She’d brought it over, along with some takeout from the girls’ favorite sushi restaurant, in honor of their last girls’ night before Robyn got married. But as soon as they’d walked into Leah’s apartment, the relentless third-degree interrogation took precedence over the food and entertainment. She’d known them too long, and they could see all over her face that something had changed for her. Within ten minutes of their arrival, Leah had told them everything, beginning with Danny’s drunken phone call and ending with her bringing him to his car earlier that afternoon.

“Oh, here,” Robyn said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small stack of envelopes before tossing them to Leah. “We got your mail on the way in.”

“Thanks,” Leah said, quickly sifting through the stack as Robyn started taking the containers of sushi out of the bag. There were two bills and a magazine subscription renewal.

And one other.

Leah laughed humorlessly as soon as she saw it.

“What?” Holly asked, coming back to the couch with the remote.

“Well, he’s certainly goal oriented,” Leah said as she tossed the envelope onto the coffee table before her. “You gotta give him that.”

“Oh my God, is that from Scott?” Robyn asked.

Leah nodded.

“What is it?”

“Don’t care,” Leah said as she took one of the containers from the table and popped off the lid.

“I do,” Holly said, swiping it from the table and tearing the envelope open.