He tilted his head to allow her a better angle to kiss his jaw. "A little bit of joy," he said with a teasing grin. He was walking a tightrope in encounters like this. A step too one side would be too serious and either scare her off or put him at risk of going down the same path he had with Mrs. Yaxley, making too many mistakes in the name of sentiment. A misstep in the other direction meant coming across as shallow and insincere, and chasing her away for feeling undervalued. He had to balance out anything that verged on romantic with a joke that undercut the attachment; had to follow a joke with something sincere.
"The way you do that," he said, touching one finger to his jaw to indicate the kiss. "Brings me joy. Never hurried. Always so intentional."
"The way you do that," he said, touching one finger to his jaw to indicate the kiss. "Brings me joy. Never hurried. Always so intentional."
![[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0hYxCaj.png)
MJ made this <3