Stepping-Stone for Mia novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: Careful

"Come in," I said.

He came in.

I shut the door behind him, and for a second we just stood in my little hallway with the coats.

"You're dripping," he said.

"I was in the shower."

"I can see that."

My T-shirt was old and thin and wet at the shoulders from my hair. I hadn't put anything else on under it but a pair of cotton shorts.

He was very carefully looking at my face.

"Say what you came to say," I said.

"I said it."

"Say the rest of it."

He put his keys down on the little table by the door, next to my mail.

"Okay," he said. "On the back steps, you said they'd call me a liar if we were together. You were right. Your brother said it to a hundred and fifty people anyway."

"I know."

"So we got the punishment without the crime."

I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"That's not funny."

"It's a little funny." He didn't smile. "Here's the rest. I've wanted you since the first night I brought you coffee and you told me the sugar packets were a crime against the pancreas. You were twenty-eight, and you were the best resident I'd ever seen, and you didn't know I was alive."

"I knew you were alive."

"You called me the gas guy for a month."

"I was tired."

"I know. That's why I brought the coffee."

I stepped closer.

The hallway was too small for two people. I didn't mind.

"You said we'd wait until it's done," I said.

"It's not done. Mia still has a license. Your brother still has an office." He swallowed. "But I watched you walk down the middle of that ballroom by yourself, and I was so proud of you I couldn't breathe, and I thought, she's always going to walk into rooms by herself. Unless somebody walks in with her."

He took one breath.

"I don't want to be careful anymore. I want to be with you. Out loud, in front of anybody. If that's not what you want, tell me, and I'll go home and still testify, and still bring coffee."

← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend