Midnight Kisses Jeanine Benedict -

“I’m serious.”

But this year was different. This year, she had something to lose. midnight kisses jeanine benedict

Jeanine looked down at her hands. They were shaking. She pressed them flat against the railing. “I got a job offer. In Seattle.” “I’m serious

She was thinking about home—and how, for the first time in her life, she didn’t have to find it alone. They were shaking

“It’s a good job,” she continued, the words rushing out now like water through a broken dam. “Better pay. Real research, not just paperwork. And I’d be closer to my sister, and the mountains, and—” She stopped. Breathed. “I’ve been here eight years, Leo. Eight years in that same cramped apartment, eating beignets and pretending I like humidity. I can’t—I can’t stay just because I’m scared to leave.”

The world exploded into light and sound around them, but all she felt was the warmth of his mouth, the strength of his arms wrapping around her waist, the steady beat of his heart against her chest. It tasted like champagne and rain and the faint salt of her own tears. It tasted like a beginning.

“That sounds ominous,” he said lightly.