He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 199

Chapter 199

I questioned his intelligence once, which, looking back, had been objectively ridiculous considering the guy seemed capable of calculating military strategy before breakfast.

Now?

Now he handed me coffee, and I suddenly couldn’t remember how conversations worked.

It didn’t make any sense.

I had spent so much time imagining what it would feel like if DeLuca ever looked at me the way I looked at him.

Apparently the answer was simple.

I became an idiot.

A complete one.

He sat down on the couch near my legs, leaving enough space to remain respectful yet close enough for me to become acutely aware of

his presence.

The apartment grew quiet again.

Not uncomfortable.

Just… different.

The kind of silence where both people were aware something had changed between them but neither quite knew how to navigate it yet.

I lifted the mug and took a careful sip.

The coffee was good.

Dangerously good.

“You didn’t make one for yourself?” I asked after a moment.

He shook his head. “The weather is warm enough already.” His gaze drifted briefly toward the balcony.

“I don’t need anything making it warmer.”

“Fair point.”

Another silence settled between us, for which I became convinced I should say something.

Anything.

Instead, I drank more coffee.

Brilliant strategy.

Just then, without the slightest warning, Adrian reached behind his neck, caught the hem of his shirt, and pulled it smoothly over his head.

My brain stopped functioning.

Entirely.

There wasn’t even a dramatic transition.

One second he was wearing a shirt.

The next… He wasn’t.

The coffee I was drinking immediately chose the wrong pipe. And I coughed so violently that tears sprang into my eyes.

“Daisy.”

His reaction was instant.

He leaned toward me before I had time to recover, placing one hand against my thigh to steady me while his other hovered uncertainly

near my shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

The situation somehow became infinitely worse.

His hand. Was on my thigh!

My actual thigh!

Not intentionally. And not romantically. It was simply because he was trying to stop me from doubling over and hurting my stitches.

Unfortunately, my heart possessed absolutely no interest in logical explanations.

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