But all your flaws and scars are mine

Chapter 3

"Hi!" She beams at me. She looks exactly the same as this morning but I appreciate every inch of her once more.

It takes me a moment to blink myself out of my stupor and unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth. "Hey." I finally manage.

We stand there staring at each other for a beat longer than what is polite. Maybe she feels this pull between us too...

"You ready?" I finally ask.

"Yep! Let's go." Sansa is grinning so big her face must hurt.

After locking her door we head to the lift and our usual silence falls between us. When we enter the elevator and when the doors close, it all shifts.

It feels as though there's no air, the space around the two of us is almost physically crackling with something intoxicating and I have to clench my fists to stop myself from grabbing Sansa and pulling her against me.

I sneak a glance at her, out the corner of my eye, to see if I'm standing there, suffocating alone in my pull for this woman.

I'm relieved when I see color in Sansa's cheeks and notice her chest moving a bit quicker than usual.

We both exhale a sigh when we exit the lift into the parking garage. I decided we should take my G Wagon so we're not cramped. Making sure to reach her door first, I press the fob to unlock it and open it for her.

She looks tickled fucking pink. "What a gentleman. Thank you." Sansa says, brushing closer to me than she needed, to get into her seat.

Shaking some sense back into myself, I stride around to my side, hopping in and get us on the road.

"How was work?" Sansa asks me as soon as we hit daylight. And she's genuinely interested. When's the last time someone gave a shit about my day? Besides my "family."

I can't admit that the mere thought of doing this with her kept me from finishing my tasks. "Not bad. I do a lot on weekends and from home, wasn't much to catch up on."

"We have something in common there. I like working from home but you definitely have to learn to push yourself since the environment is different."

How I thought this woman was some rookie romance novelist or simply a model makes me feel like a total fool now. She's bright, mature and insightful.

And I'm fucking whipped.

"Have you been able to work on your new book since you moved in?" I find myself asking, surprising myself. I really shouldn't be, I'm desperate to know everything about her.

Sansa sighs. "Not yet and I'm having a bit of trouble with it anyway. I actually got the first set of revised edits for my third novel and I need to knock those out first."

Our easy chatter follows us all the way until we reach the grocery store. Sansa unloads, like the night before, about her current writers block and I don't give her a chance to apologize. Just like when I first met her, she could talk endlessly about everything or nothing and I want to hear it all.