#Chapter 78: Fragile Moments

Kayla The first thing I felt when I woke up was warmth under my cheek. The second thing I felt was a slow, steady heartbeat thudding just beneath my ear. A heartbeat that was not my own. I shifted slightly, half-asleep, and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks—my head wasn’t resting against a pillow. It was resting on something firmer, something broader. And something breathing. Nicholas. My eyes fluttered open, squinting at the soft golden light filtering through the living room windows. The sun was barely up, casting just enough light to illuminate the sharp angles of Nicholas’s jawline as he slept beneath me, his head tilted back against the couch cushion. His arms were still wrapped around me, one draped lazily over my waist, the other tucked beneath my neck like he’d done it a thousand times before. And to make things worse—or better, depending on how I wanted to look at it—our legs were tangled together, my thigh slotted between his like