Chapter 26 - Dreams Deferred

Isabella’s POV

My tummy felt a bit warm at his admittance. How could this big, beautiful man of mine be so dense and overbearing one minute and then say the sweetest things in the next?

The confidence I felt in that moment could be in part due to his words, as well as the alcohol, but I didn't quite care either way.

I slipped my hands up to grab firmly on the tie at his neck.

Ethan’s eyes widened, but he said nothing, nor did he remove my hands. Good. It was my turn to talk, either. I frowned up at the distance between us.

“Come down here, please,” I asked Ethan, tugging lightly at his tie.

“What did I tell you about drinking when I wasn’t by your side?” Ethan asked grumpily, even as he leaned down at my behest, bringing our faces within inches of each other.

So close, in fact, that I could make out the droplets of water that dotted across the planes of his jaw and chin…and his lips.

My face heated at his sudden closeness even though I’d asked for it.