The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Emma’s POV:

I tilted my head, feeling a surge of boldness.

“Should I be? Or are you the one who’s afraid?”

Something shifted in his expression-a flash of heat. He shook his head slowly, almost indulgently, and when he spoke, his voice was low enough that only I could hear.

“Baby, I’d announce it to the entire city if I could.” His free hand came up, fingers brushing my cheek so briefly I might have imagined it.

My face went hot despite the cold. Before I could formulate a response, he shifted the bags in his hands, drawing my attention to them.

“Here,” he said, his tone returning to something more neutral as a group of students walked past. “Before everything gets cold.”

I looked down at what he was holding. Multiple bags. From different restaurants.

“You actually…” I stared at him, then back at the bags. “You really went to all of them?”

“You said you were hungry.” He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, like driving across Boston to four different high-end restaurants was just a normal Friday evening activity,

“Daniel.” My throat felt tight. “How long did this take?”

“Two and a half hours, give or take.” He shifted the bags again, and the scent of garlic and butter and something rich and wine-dark wafted up. “Though I didn’t have to wait at a couple of places-I have stakes in them, so they had everything ready when I arrived.”

I just stood there, staring at him, at this man who’d finished surgery and immediately spent the next two and a half hours fighting Friday traffic and restaurant lines because I’d made a stupid joke about wanting food from half of Boston’s finest establishments.

“You really are insane,” I whispered.

“Probably.” His smile was soft, private. “Now go inside before you freeze.”

My heart felt too full, too warm, like it might overflow.

Before I could second-guess myself, I grabbed his sleeve and tugged him toward the shadow of the oak tree, away from the brightest pool of streetlight. The massive trunk blocked us from most of the plaza’s view,

Emma-” he started, but I was already rising on my toes.

I kissed him quickly, softly, just a brief press of my lips against his. It wasn’t enough, but it was all I dared in such a public space.

When I pulled back, his eyes had gone dark behind his glasses, his breath coming a little faster

8:53 am p p pp.

Chapter 162

“Go,” he said softly, but there was a roughness in his voice that hadn’t been there before. “Before I forget we’re standing in the middle of your campus.”

I smiled, grabbed the bags, and forced myself to step back. “Goodnight, Daniel.”

“Goodnight, baby.”

This time, I didn’t look back until I’d pushed through the glass doors.

Through the window, I could see him still standing there, a dark silhouette against the streetlight, watching to make sure I got inside safely.

I pushed through the door, the bags heavy in my arms and my heart doing complicated things in my chest.

The room was dark except for the glow from Olivia’s laptop-she was curled up on her bed in an oversized BU sweatshirt, watching something

on Netflix.

A half-eaten box of Domino’s pizza sat on her desk.

“You’re

back!” She hit pause immediately, sitting up. “I was starting to think you’d-”

She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes landed on the bags I was carrying. Even in the dim light from her laptop, the restaurant logos were

visible.

“Holy shit.” She scrambled off her bed, coming closer. “Is that from Mistral?”

“Um.” I set the bags down on my desk carefully. “Yeah. And a few other places.”

“A few other-” Olivia peered into the bags, her eyes getting progressively wider. “Emma. Emma. This is like… hundreds of dollars worth of

food.”

I busied myself unpacking the containers, trying to ignore the heat creeping up my neck. “Someone was being thoughtful.”

“Someone.”” Olivia’s voice had gone up an octave. “Let me guess-tall, ridiculously handsome guy who was standing under the oak tree when I went to throw out my trash twenty minutes ago?”

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