It had been a week since I moved into Alec’s house, and I’d lost count of how many times we almost touched.

Almost.

It was a game now—one neither of us acknowledged out loud, but it played in every shared glance, every graze of fingertips when we passed things across the counter. He’d stand a little too close when I was doing the dishes. I’d bend just a little slower when I picked up Lily’s toys. We were careful. But not careful enough.

This morning, Alec was being… ...