44. Hot kisses

There's only darkness and the almost imperceptible humming of the air conditioner. I opened my eyes, stretched; a smile creeping across my face when I realized I was in Josh's bed.

Josh wasn’t there, though.

Glancing over at the bedside clock I saw it was long after midnight. My smile melted as my heart pounded loud in my ears. Déjá vu attacked me.

Scrambling out of bed, I yanked off the sheet and draped it around me then rushed into the bathroom. He wasn't there.

I darted out onto the balcony. Not there.

Trying not to trip over the bunched-up sheet, I sprinted downstairs.

My heart sagged in relief.

Josh in the living area, humming to the sound of Morgan Heritage’s She’s Still Loving Me playing softly over the integrated speakers, while cleaning up shards of the vase he'd broken earlier.

As if sensing me, he abruptly glanced up and smiled. But that smile quickly morphed into a frown. "Dalia, what's wrong?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Shit, you don't want to leave, do you? Stay.