Looking at her, I could almost feel the same energy rolling off of her in waves. It was like she wanted to speak but couldn’t get the words out, her eyes filled with a dozen conflicting thoughts, but I didn’t want to assume. I had no claim on her heart. What she did on her own time was her business.
Still, I asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“I was worried about you,” Millie responded, looking up into my eyes. “I didn’t want things to change between us.”
“So, this is how you would like things to stay?”
She considered the question and slowly shook her head.
“No, actually,” she admitted, “but people create boundaries for a reason. I-I do care about you, Caleb, and that’s probably why….”
“Why worried about me knowing you went out with Vlad Pechenko?”
She looked at me quizzically, as if she had been expecting more of a fight. I was sorry to disappoint her, but I wasn’t going to fly into a jealous rage.
“No. Well, that’s true too, but how I care about you is different. I’m not looking for ‘the perfect guy’ or ‘the one’ or even a single one. I’m sure it’s too much to explain here, but I need you to know that I do care, more than you might even know.”
“I think I know, Millie,” I assured her with a smile. “Like I said before, nothing you can do will change where I stand. I’ll always be here for you.”
When she looked at me, I regretted having takeout containers spread across the table. I could have pulled her into me right then and there. I wanted to taste the spice on her tongue and relishing pushing up the fabric of her gray skirt. I longed down to hunt down the warmth inside her body and make Millie feel as good as she made me feel every time we were together, but I wasn’t going to reduce my first taste of her to some hasty moment. Millie deserved better than that.
Instead, I let my hand take hers on the desktop. I met her eyes as she didn’t speak, only watching as I let my lips press against her knuckles. Millie’s breath hitched for a moment as she smiled.
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
“Always,” I promised then and there.
Finally, the tension between us had evaporated. I wished only the best for her, and God willing, I was going to make sure Millie had every happiness life could ever offer her, even if it meant I wasn’t the only man in her life.