Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 26471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
We get our wine and wander outside. It’s a warm night with a cool breeze, the galaxy of stars shining over our heads while Earth’s stars mingle and chat all around us. It really is surreal. If the kids in high school could see me now…
“There he is,” Rachel whispers. “Over by the campfire.”
I take a deep breath, trying to slow my beating heart before I turn around.
I know once I turn and see him, it’s going to be over. I won’t be at the party with my friends and all these stars anymore. It will only be him. I won’t be able to focus on anything else.
And I want to make the anticipation last. This is the best part. Like when I was a kid on Christmas morning, waiting for my mother and father to tell us that we could come down the stairs. My sister and I would wait a few extra moments, teasing out that wonderful anticipation and making it last. The excitement was always the best part.
“God, he’s so hot,” Rachel whispers, her eyes locked on him.
My resolve shatters and I turn around with my chest fluttering.
As soon as I see him, all lit up in a warm glow from the fire, the hair rises on my arms and on the nape of my neck. Hot is an understatement. This man looks iconic.
A warm desire floods my body from my head to my toes and everything in between as I stare at him in awe. Cash Edwards. The only man I’ve ever crushed on. The only man I’ve ever desired.
He’s standing around the fire talking to Blake Gentry, another country singer who’s been around forever. Every few seconds, he looks toward the house, like he’s looking for someone.
I know in my heart that he’s looking for me.
I want to be over there standing next to him, hearing that deep raspy voice, smelling his cologne, talking to him, learning from him, and drowning in those soft brown eyes. That’s where I belong—next to that beautiful man.
But my feet aren’t moving. All I can do is stare as my body trembles nervously.
“We’re going over there,” Rachel says in a firm tone.
When I don’t move, she hooks her arm around mine and starts pulling. “Right now.”
“Okay,” I whisper, more to myself than to her.
I keep my eyes locked on Cash as we walk over, feeling the warmth of the fire as we approach.
“Lola!” someone says, snapping me out of my daze.
Cash’s sexy eyes—all lit up and glowing from the fire—dart over to me. I shiver at the intensity of them. The way he’s looking at me. The possession in those fierce eyes. It’s like I belong to him already. Like I’m already his.
“How are you doing?” the person says, stepping in my path. He cuts the sexy view of the man I’m here to see and I get an irresistible urge to put my hands on his chest and shove him as hard as I can so I can see Cash’s lustful brown eyes again. “I heard you killed at the Tennessee Country Festival!”
I finally look up at the person and give a tight smile when I see it’s Jason Channing. He’s an actor on a popular vampire show that I met when I was filming a commercial for a charity that was raising money for a children’s hospital. He’s nice, but I really don’t want to chat with anyone right now. I can’t focus on anything but Cash.
“Yeah, it was great,” I say, swallowing hard. “Amazing crowd.”
“Is it on YouTube?” he says, pulling out his phone.
“I have the link,” Rachel says, coming to my rescue. “Come, I’ll show you.”
She grabs his arm and pulls him away. God, I love that girl. She’s never met him in her life, but she’s stepping in and taking one for the team. She’s a hell of a wingwoman.
When Jason gets pulled out of the way, I see Cash standing straight up, staring at me with eyes so full of longing and tenderness, it feels like he's baring his soul right there in the open. It feels intimate and raw, like I’m seeing something I shouldn’t, but I can’t look away. I know this is a moment I’ll remember forever.
I swallow hard and walk around the crowd. He snaps out of his mesmerized trance and rushes over to meet me.
“Hi,” I say, unable to stop smiling when I’m standing in front of him, looking up into those gorgeous brown eyes.
“Hi,” he says, staring down at me, drinking me in like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.
He’s even hotter up close wearing a simple black T-shirt, dark gray jeans, and black cowboy boots. We’re dressed so similar—both in black cowboy boots and the same color outfit, only reversed. I know it’s probably just a coincidence, but my mind still jumps to a wild conclusion—It’s because we’re meant to be. It’s a sign. Obviously.