“Would- Would you kiss me? It won’t mean a thing,” she said. “I promise you, it won’t mean anything, and I’d never expect anything from you because of it, but I could die tomorrow and-"
“What?” Her eyes looked huge, and meltingly dark, and pleading and…He could feel his resolve melting away.
"I could die tomorrow and-" “You’re not going to die tomorrow!” he somehow managed to get out. “But I could! I could, and it would kill me because-" "You’d already be dead,” he said, thinking his voice sounded rather strange and disembodied.
“I don’t want to die without ever having been kissed,” she finally finished. And then Penelope did the one thing that could break his resolve in an instant. She looked up at him, deeply into his eyes, and uttered one, simple word.
“Please.” He was lost. There was something heartbreaking in the way she was gazing at him, as if she might die if he didn’t kiss her. Not from heartbreak, not from embarrassment- it was almost as if she needed him for nourishment, to feed her soul, to fill her heart.
And Colin couldn’t remember anyone else never needing him with such fervor. It humbled him. It made him want her with an intensity that nearly buckled his knees. - Romancing Mister Bridgerton