Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Maybe they were just helping make us a romantic picnic basket. Did you consider that?”
Of course I had, but I dismissed it easily. “Unlikely.”
“If you say so,” he shrugged, but I didn’t miss that smirk that made his blue eyes sparkle. “What’s the movie tonight?”
I frowned. “You said you wanted to come tonight,” I said with an accusing tone.
He leaned over the basket and pulled me in to brush a soft kiss against my lips. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the brief connection, even though I knew it was all for the eyes watching us like hawks. “I said I wouldn’t mind cuddling up with you on a blanket.”
Yep, that was exactly what he’d actually said. “It’s about an aging rock star struggling to hang on to his fame at all costs.” Derek’s eyes went wide, and he stared at me for a long, long time as shock and then disbelief crossed his handsome face. I held out for as long as I could before a loud laugh exploded from my chest.
“Hilarious.”
“Thanks. I think so too.” I couldn’t stop laughing at him, and eventually Derek joined in, moving the basket so smoothly that he was right beside me with one hand wrapped around my waist before I realized what was happening. “Smooth.”
“Thanks,” he grinned. “I think so too,” he shot my words back at me with an amused expression.
The movie wasn’t about an aging rock star, it was a teen romp meant to entice the youngsters to show up in the park instead of drinking behind the convenience store. “Bringing back old memories?”
Derek turned to me with a smoking hot smile that was just inches from my face. “Kind of. Yeah.”
“Figures.” He’d gotten the ultimate high school experience, while I was the kid in the background that was the butt of the joke. Ancient history, I tried to remind myself.
“You know, there is one high school activity the movies always make a big deal of, but I never got to experience myself.” His whispered words amped up my desire which I quickly shook off, or tried to anyway.
The problem was that Derek was just innately sexy. He didn’t have to try to turn me on, he just did. He was flirty and charming and gorgeous, and for most women—myself included—that was enough. “Yeah?” The word came out breathy, and I bit the inside of my cheek in an effort to sound normal. “What experience would that be?”
“Making out under the stars.”
I sucked in a breath at his words and the heat in his eyes. The way his gaze seemed to devour me, and when he licked his lips, I was done for. “Never?”
“Nope.” His smiled slowly, and when it was at full wattage, it literally scorched my panties. “What do you say we hop in the back of that giant truck of yours and do some star gazing, among other things?”
Hell yes. “You know your constellations?”
Derek shrugged. “Let’s go with yes, and you can quiz me on them when we get there?”
I weighed my options. I could play the prude and shrug off the intent in his voice and gaze, or I could say to hell with it and take this moment just for me. I pushed at his chest and relished the disappointed slump of his shoulders as I packed up the basket.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Did I say something wrong?”
I grinned. “I know just the place. Come on, rock star.”
Derek scrambled to his feet so quickly it was almost comical, and I might have swooned—just a little—when he relieved me of the basket. “You’re both cruel and funny Bella.”
“Thank you. What a sweet thing to say.”
“And you keep me on my toes,” he growled beside me and flung his free arm over my shoulders before he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I think I like you Annabella York.”
I groaned. “Then I guess that makes it better, since I might like you too Derek Gregory.” Liking him didn’t mean I had to do anything about it, just as it didn’t mean that I would start spinning fantasies of happily ever after in my head. This was fun, and I could use a little bit of fun in my life. Nothing more.
The truck was full of tension and silence as I drove us towards my favorite spot on the farm. It was the best place to see the stars, though I couldn’t vouch for the making out underneath them part. I’d spent many late nights staring up and wishing I was somewhere up there instead of Carson Creek. “This is the spot.”
Derek jumped from the vehicle and looked up with an almost giddy smile. “Wow! This is even better than the view from my property.”
I smiled and grabbed the blanket from the backseat to spread out in the bed of my truck. “This was always my favorite spot on the farm. Just me and the stars.”