He shrugged and gave me a teasing smirk. "I mean, it's hilarious."
I laughed. “You are incorrigible."
“Yes. So I’ve heard."
"Are we good?"
He blinked at me. “You're asking me if we're good? If I’m okay with the fact that I can’t have the woman I have feelings for?"
My heart cracked in two as he spoke. "What are you saying?"
"Jesus Christ, how can you be so bloody brilliant and not know? There's a reason I remembered."
I could see it in his eyes. The determination. He wasn't walking away. He wasn't giving up. "Lock, we can't. There are strict rules about this for a reason."
“After all the shit we survived in the Winston Isles? I know it's against the rules, and I’m pretty sure Tabs knows it's against the rules. But she sent me here hoping that this was what would happen, so I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to lead you into the bedroom. Please tell me it's not her bedroom because that would be awkward. And then I’m going to hold you, okay? Can we make that work?"
I swallowed hard and looked down at his hand. So many times I’d wanted to do the thing that I wanted, not the thing that I should. But I almost always picked the thing that I should. And for once, I couldn't. I couldn't say no to him. Because I was wound tight, and I was scared, and I trusted him. So I took his hand and let him lead me down the hall into the guestroom.
If I was going to have to give him up, we should do it with a bang.