Force of Forever (All In #0.5)

They arrived at Sainte-Chapelle right as the sun started to sink. This time, they had to go in through a back entrance. Pia didn’t care. She knew Sainte-Chapelle. Every Catholic did. The church was so, so old, and held the Crown of Thorns. Her father would be insanely envious she’d been near a relic so important to their faith, if she ever told him. Which she wouldn’t. There’d be too many questions.

Matt held another conversation in French with the wizened old guard who let them in. The billy club and pepper spray on his belt contrasted sharply with the warm smile on his face. After more whispered words from Matt, the man waved them on their way. Pia wondered not for the first time how he was able to open so many doors, literally.

“My family financed some of the restoration work,” Matt supplied, as if he could read her mind. He pressed his hand into hers again as they made their way through cold, darkened hallways. She shivered. His jacket couldn’t combat the chill rolling off the thirteenth-century stones.

“How rich are you?”

The question had been rhetorical. Thinking of the small home in Carson she shared with her parents and brothers, she didn’t really want to know.

“Sixth richest family in the world, last I checked.”

Pia laughed out loud, the dry sound echoing all around them.Last I checked.Lord, have mercy. She should turn back, ditch the jacket and the dream. What the hell had she been thinking, agreeing to—

But then Pia couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.

She shrunk. She became dwarfed by the past, by the ambition and dedication of cathedral builders. Dwarfed by this monument to God. The stonework soaring above her head looked too delicate to hold a dome so substantial. And the windows. Glowing light poured in through colorful stained glass that stretched the entire height of the dome above her. The last light of the day. The time constraint Matt had mentioned. He’d planned this experience for her, so she’d feel exactly these emotions while standing in this spot.

She turned in a circle, head back, watching stories play out in color and light. Pia had never seen iconography so lovingly rendered, or so massive in scale. Inhaling, she knew she was sharing the same air, the sameexperience, as thousands, maybe millions, of believers who had stood here before her and also been moved.

She felt a gentle squeeze near her side. She blinked, coming back down to earth. Their hands were still entwined. She was not alone in this place.

One long flight where they’d pulled information from each other as if they’d never get another chance. That’s what she and Matt had together. That was all. And he had still arranged an entire night just for her.

“Hey,” he said softly. He let go of her hand to swipe his thumbs across her cheeks.

Pia hadn’t realized she’d been crying.

His lips found her forehead then. She leaned into his warmth with a sigh. “I was supposed to kissyou, remember?”

“There’s still time.”

How did Matt go from sexy as sin to sweetly reverential? How did Pia go from unsure about getting into his car to wanting his tomorrows? They’d only known each other a day.One day. She’d dated men for months whom she felt less for. Her attraction to Matt was consuming. This gratitude even more so. The gratitude gutted her, left her open and raw.

She trembled in his arms. He had joked that she could handle him, and maybe she could. But concerns bubbled to the surface. The fear of liking him too much, that she wasn’t enough for a man like him. Maybe she could handle Matt, but she didn’t know if she could handle all that came with him.

Even just one night with him.

He must have recognized the trepidation on her face. His warm hands slid up and down her arms. “I didn’t ask you out because I wanted to be your friend, Pia. You didn’t accept because you wanted to be mine. We both know we’re drowning in attraction that can’t be anything more than a one-night deal. We have been teasing and testing and pushing all night. Hell, all day.”

Unease curled in her gut. She had participated in all of that. She’d been a different person with him, bold and unapologetic. Until now.

“But you owe me nothing. I’d love more of your time, but only what you’re willing to give. After that, the choice is yours. You know what I want, but you also need to know that I already view this as a perfect night. The perfect date. Even if it ends right this moment.”

Gratitude threatened to choke her. Matt had given her an out, should she need one. He made her decision easy.

“You’re not real,” she whispered. He felt real under her palms, though.

Those ocean eyes crinkled. “No? Then why do I feel your every word, every smile, in my gut?” His head lowered, breath tickling her ear. “And other places?”

Pia pressed her body against his. Matt had not been bluffing. The hard chest, sculpted arms, and “other places” offered hints of what their blended bodies might feel like, what directions they might go together. Matt’s words all night had set her simmering. These borderline erotic touches in a very holy place were starting to singe.

“I don’t do things like this,” she explained, tilting up her chin to look him in the eye. “I don’t get in cars with strangers in Paris. I don’t do one-night stands.”

He nodded.

“But.” Pia slid her hands up his chest and into his hair. She toyed with the short strands at the nape of his neck, amazed at how much she craved what he was offering. “I am going home with you, for three reasons.”

A grin broke across his face like sun on a shadowed landscape. No triumph, just joy. In that moment, inhergut, Pia knew she’d made the right decision. Matt was fun and considerate. Safe. She had promised herself a night away from her worries. A night with Matt Geier was a night away from reality in general, but she deserved that kind of escape. They both did.