I kiss her again. Slower this time as I seal the truth I can no longer deny. When I finally let her go, my hands linger.
“This doesn’t change the risks,” I murmur.
“I’m not asking it to,” she replies.
“We should go,” I say.
She nods calmly. She’s still present. Still here with me.
And for the first time in a long time, walking away doesn’t feel like escape because I know I’m making a choice to come back.
Chapter Nineteen
Melissa
Today feels different. Not quieter, not easier. Lighter … like the floor itself has loosened its grip on me.
The kiss keeps replaying in my mind when I least expect it. The way his hands framed my face, like he was grounding himself. How he kissed me like it was a decision, not an accident. No promises. No apologies.
Only passion. Desire.
I walk onto the oncology floor with my coffee in hand and a stupid smile I can’t quite shake.
Colton is already there.
He looks up from the nurses’ station as I approach, eyes catching on me for a half second too long. There’s no avoidance today. No clipped nod. No carefully neutral distance.
Instead, the corner of his mouth lifts. It’s small, but I know it’s for me.
“Morning,” he says.
“Morning,” I reply, my voice betraying none of the internal chaos he causes.
I move past him toward the counter, reaching for my water bottle. I have to lean forward to grab it, just a little stretch, and I feel it immediately. The heat of his attention.
I straighten slowly, already knowing.
When I turn, he’s watching me openly now. No pretense. No shame. His gaze is unapologetic, warm, unmistakably appreciative as his eyes land on my ass.
I arch a brow. “See something interesting?”
He doesn’t look away.
Instead, he smiles—a slow, dangerous smile—and gives me a wink.
My breath stutters. Heat pools low in my stomach, sharp and unexpected, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Or worse, saying something that would absolutely get us in trouble.
“Careful,” I murmur as I pass him. “You’re going to get yourself caught.”
“Already did,” he replies quietly.
The words send a shiver straight through me.
Trudy looks between us from her spot at the station, eyes narrowing slightly. Then she smiles to herself and goes back to her charting without a word.
Frank is awake when I check on him, eyes bright, observant as ever.
“Well,” he says, glancing toward the door after Colton passes by, “that’s new.”