Crossing Lines

Chapter 18 - Mila

Life is a funny thing.

When Hayden showed up at my doorstep, I didn't expect to be so nervous. Well, I knew I was going to be nervous as hell, but still this lunch date felt different. Like it was more.

Because we talked about us, about my fears, and about the struggles that could lay ahead of us, and that talk alone made everything so real.

I'm not in a dream anymore. The dream where this sexy, confident quarterback sweeps me off my feet and kisses the ever-living hell out of me.

We're in reality, plain and simple, and yet it's anything but.

Because as I watch him drive up the road until we reach a little house at the end of a hill, I feel like I'm in one of those Hallmark romance movies, set in the south of France, where the shy main character falls in love with the guy who's nothing like her.

Wait. Did I just say fall in love?

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Hayden's voice startles me when we stop in front of the timbered house. I study the rustic exterior, the yellow window shutters wide open while ivy vines decorate the corners, Mother Nature taking back what's rightfully hers.

"I'm just... I don't know. This looks so beautiful." I surely won't tell him about what other fleeting thoughts I just had.

His palm cups my cheek as he studies me with intent, the sincerity in his green eyes making me dizzy and breathless as always. "The most beautiful thing is sitting right in front of me, though."

I chuckle at his words. "You're really sappy sometimes."

"I know," he retorts with a grin. "Should I stop?"

Amusement sparkles in his eyes, his thumb caressing my cheeks and leaving traces of scorching hot fire beneath his touch. I don't know what it is, but I suddenly realize I'm such a goner for this dangerously handsome man. Because as much as I shouldn't want him, shouldn't like him...I do.

"No," I whisper, and he immediately smiles again, his thumb now moving to my lips. There's a distinct display of hunger in his eyes when they trace his movements, and I have to fight the urge to bite down on his thumb the second it brushes over my bottom lip.

He meets my gaze again, those hungry eyes piercing straight through me before he says, "Good. Now come on—I'm starving."

He almost dashes out of the car, and I release a nervous chuckle when he suddenly opens my door, his hand appearing right in front of me. Shooting him a smile, I intertwine our fingers, the feeling of his hand in mine calming my nerves as we enter the house, hand in hand.

"Oh, hello there!" A fragile old lady steps into our path. "You must be Hayden Cross?"

Hayden shakes her hand with a smile and places a kiss on the top of her wrist. I can't even blame the woman when she giggles like a little girl; this man is just ridiculously well mannered. "Yes, that would me be. You must be Mrs. Knox?"

"Ah, none of that 'Mrs. Knox' nonsense, darling." She waves him off. "Please call me Celeste."

He nods, his trademark grin curling on his lips. "Okay then. It's a pleasure to meet you, Celeste."

"Likewise." She redirects her attention to me. "And what about you, my dear?"

I shake her delicate hand, trying my hardest not to look at Hayden, who's still baffling me with his immaculate behavior. "I'm Mila Lyne. Like pine, but with an L. And I don't know why I just said that..." I shake my head with a sigh, ignoring the smirk on Hayden's lips before I address Celeste again. "It's very nice to meet you. This is such a lovely house."

"My, thank you, dear. It's been here for over eighty years, you know."

"Wow. It's absolutely beautiful."

"Please come inside!" She must notice my curious glances, studying the wooden beams and yellow walls with narrowed eyes. "I'll show you around and tell you all about the history of this place."

I smile when she releases my hand, which Hayden immediately places in his own again, a content grin resting on his lips. We follow her into the house, where she tells us she was born here and that her parents opened up a restaurant while she went to study abroad fifty years ago.

"Now." She pushes open a tiny wooden door, revealing a small room with two chestnut wood tables, multiple ivory candles on every surface giving off a calm atmosphere. "Go have a seat. I'll prepare your lunch."

"Thank you, Celeste," Hayden shoots her another smile before her frail figure disappears around the corner. He moves to the table and pulls out my chair, that charming grin playing on his lips as I sit down. I'm still occupied by taking in the beautiful decorations of this place when Hayden takes a seat opposite to me; the way his eyes burn into me has redirected my attention to him, the intensity in his gaze making my cheeks burn.

"What is this place?" I ask.

"Honestly, I don't know all about it. But there's more to it. We'll get to that after lunch."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You're being mysterious again, Cash."

"Believe me, Lucky, I know." He brushes his fingers over my hand to open my nervously cramped fingers, his intense gaze leaving me unable to move. That's why I just sit here, watching him watch me react to his touch, to the way his fingertips leave short bursts of pleasure with every inch they discover.

Celeste comes back after a while, and we reluctantly let go of each other to enjoy the lunch she prepared for us. We both dig into the cheese platter and breadsticks while sharing stories and experiences, telling the other about our past few days and weeks.

It's such a beautiful and calm experience that it feels like we've known each other for years. No awkward pauses I was dreading, no lack of conversational topics, it's just...perfect. Like two puzzle pieces falling into place.

And then a laugh escapes my throat when Celeste brings us dessert, placing a plate of tiramisu in front of Hayden, while mine reveals the biggest muffin I've ever seen with five peanut butter cups on top.

"I requested that personally," Hayden exclaims and chuckles quietly.

"Of course you did." I shake my head with a smile, my gaze flicking from the muffin and back to Hayden again. The happiness in his eyes turns my smile into a full-on beam, and I feel my cheeks hurt from its intensity. No one has ever paid this much attention to me—like, at all.

"You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen, Mila." His voice is almost inaudible, but I hear his words, and the second I look into his eyes, I just know. I know he's sincere, the admiration in his irises reflecting the same passion and longing I feel whenever I look at him.

"Thank you." I don't know what else to say, so I focus on the dessert in front of me, trying my best not to heat up like a bonfire from Hayden's heated glances, from the way he accidentally nudges my thigh under the table.

"Now, are you ready for the rest, darlings?" Celeste's voice startles me, and I almost kick Hayden's leg beneath the table, feeling like a teenager who got caught with her first date.

"The rest?" I clear my throat as I look up at her, disregarding Hayden's chuckle opposite to me.

"You'll see, dear. You'll see." She shoots me another smile and turns around, but before I can even follow her, I feel Hayden's presence next to me, his hand on the back of my chair as he pulls it back with a smirk.

"You ready, Lucky?" he whispers into my ear as I get up, immediately reaching for his hand next to me. Who knows, I might just faint from the way he's acting right now...

"For what?" I ask, but Hayden doesn't pay my question any mind. Instead, he pulls me into his side and follows Celeste to a set of oak double doors, the intricate patterns on the front already giving away what lies behind it.

Even so, my mouth flies wide open as soon as Celeste allows us entry to the most beautiful place I've ever seen.