Chapter 27

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

The truth sat there instead, heavy and impossible to hide.

Madden stepped closer again.

Now there was barely any space between them at all. She could feel the heat coming off him, could see the way his chest rose and fell like he was trying to stay in control and failing.

“Poppi…” her name left his mouth like a warning and a confession all at once.

Her fingers tightened against the railing behind her. “Don’t Madden,” she said again—but this time it sounded like a plea, not a command.

Not for him to stop.

For him to do it.

His hand lifted slowly, like he was giving her time to pull away. To stop him.

She didn’t.

His fingers brushed her jaw first—light, hesitant—and she inhaled sharply at the contact. It was nothing and everything all at once. Too gentle for what was building between them.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured.

“So are you.”

That almost made him smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Tell me to stop,” he said.

She should have.

She knew she should have.

Instead, her lips parted slightly, her breath catching as her eyes flicked down to his mouth and then back up again.

“I…” Her voice faltered. “I can’t.”

That was it.

The last thread snapped.

He closed the distance. He pulled her chin up. His breath right by her mouth now. He pulled her towards him and brushed his lips against hers. Almost waiting for her to kiss him back.

The kiss wasn’t rushed, but it wasn’t soft either.

It was heated. Tension. Everything they’d been holding back crashing together at once. His hand cupped her face, firm now, anchoring her as her fingers instinctively found his shirt, gripping like she needed something solid to hold onto.

And she kissed him back.

Fully.

Like she’d been waiting for it.

The world disappeared—the fireworks, the music, the people inside. None of it mattered. Just the way he pulled her closer, the way her body fit against his like it made too much sense. His hands caressed her back and her face so gently like she was the most delicate thing to him in the world.

It was wrong.

It felt right anyway.

That’s what broke it.

Poppi pulled back abruptly, breathless, her heart racing so fast it hurt. Reality slammed into her all at once, cold and unforgiving.

“No,” she whispered, even as her body leaned toward him again. “No, we can’t…”

Madden’s forehead touched hers, his breathing just as uneven. “Poppi—”

“This is wrong,” she said, louder now, forcing herself back, putting space between them even though it felt like tearing something apart. “We can’t do this.”

His expression cracked, confusion and hurt flashing through. “You just—”

“I know what I just did!” she snapped, panic rising fast now. “That doesn’t change anything.”

“It changes everything to me,” Madden argued.

“Well it shouldn’t,” she shot back, even as her voice wavered.

“Poppi you kissed me back. This wasn’t all me,” he said.

Silence fell heavy between them.

For a split second, her eyes softened—truth slipping through despite her best effort to bury it.

“I can’t ruin this,” she whispered. “I won’t.”