CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkS0wvMWxCt
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMbzvFsnqc
His hands were still gentle.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPqr2gXS40
Still slow.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡha7HWOs7SM
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsiIEdvPpB
But she felt it.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCHLyeWTyz
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4C4HGXW1bM
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSwdbUJhkr
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsmehv2gVF
Said something about needing to “review files.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlR6bHcmJm
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3cXxTYx3u
Didn’t ask her what she wanted for dinner.
And yet, he looked at her like she was his air.
It was confusing as hell.
She spent the rest of the day pacing in her apartment.
Staring at her phone.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYqqSh5SCi
Checking if he’d text.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zIPuljc9X
Telling herself not to overthink.
But every woman who’s ever been loved and then unloved knows this feeling.
That gut-level ache.
By nightfall, she was in front of his clinic.
No appointment.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkH3ZiI2wyF
No plan.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJukQkgD1h
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AQjYoKNQZ
Surprised.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9YyrOFTkB
Shirt slightly damp.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJsC2FTLsZ
Hair tousled.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdzsujDUso
Eyes tired.
But his lips curved. “You’re here.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” she said softly.
“Neither could I,” he whispered.
He let her in.
She stepped close.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfq3niXm8q
Tugged gently at his shirt.
“I want you to kiss me,” she said. “But this time…”
He looked down at her, brows furrowing.
“…kiss me like you’re not hiding something.”
Silence.
His jaw tensed.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpNNPeEUpZ
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2IbwS09eL
It was slow.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdcWG4sAy0
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZjm28pPyK
Felt how tightly he was holding back.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Sloe12WxJ
Felt how scared he was to give in.
When he pulled away, her eyes were wet.
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
He didn’t deny it.
“What are you afraid of, Matteo?”
His answer came barely above a whisper:
ns216.73.216.239da2“That if you knew everything…16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcXXkjwaZE
you’d never kiss me again.”
