Cristelle went frozen. She said that without thinking. She didn’t realize how misleading that sounded until it slipped off her tongue, “I… I’m not trying to say that. Don’t get me wrong.”

“I know,” Linford sounded pretty serious, “But I mean what I said.”

Cristelle went completely red as she hid her face under the blanket, “I don’t think we should continue this conversation. It’s getting ridiculous. Just go to sleep.”

Linford’s voice was gentle and low, “Goodnight, Cristelle.”

****

Cristelle had an extremely sound sleep. She didn’t even know she was in Linford’s arms at the moment, with one arm hooking around Linford’s neck.

Linford was the one who...