Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“They were arguing over where we would get married when I took off, so keep in mind that when that day comes, we’re getting married at the courthouse and telling no one about it until it’s done.”
“What?” I breathe. His eyes lock on mine and fill with something that is so beautiful it makes every part of me feel warm.
“That’s not for now,” he says softly, rubbing his fingers down my cheek. “That’s for when the time’s right, but we are not having a wedding.”
“What if I want a wedding?” I ask, wondering where the hell that question came from.
“Do you want a big wedding?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it before.”
“You’ve never thought about getting married?” he asks in a tone filled with disbelief.
“Well, once I saw a Harry Potter–themed wedding on YouTube and thought that would be cool,” I say, and his eyes close right before he drops his forehead to rest on mine once more.
“We are not having a Harry Potter–themed wedding.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not.”
“But . . .”
“It’s not happening, babe.” He stops me with a quick peck to my lips.
“What if it’s important to me?” I say, not ready to let the idea of a Harry Potter–themed wedding go now that the idea is in my head.
“Is it important?”
“Well . . .” I chew the inside of my cheek as my stomach dances with butterflies at the thought of being Levi’s wife. “I guess not really. But if the day comes that we do get married, we’re not doing it at the courthouse, because my mom and yours would somehow find out. So we will just have to go to Vegas.”
He smiles right before he takes my mouth in a kiss that has me wishing we weren’t in a public park but alone in his bed. When he pulls away, his lips touch my forehead, then he takes my hand and leads me back to the building, where thankfully everyone is getting ready to take off so they can beat the Thanksgiving Day traffic.
“Are we sleeping at my place?” Levi asks as I shut my apartment door after saying goodbye to his family and promising to see them again soon.
“Yep, my bed’s too small,” I mutter, and he leans down, kissing my nose.
“I bet I could make it work for what I have planned,” he says, sending a tingle dancing over my skin.
“Oh,” I breathe, right before I’m up in his arms and he’s carrying me into my room, kicking the door closed behind us. Dropping me to the bed, he crawls up between my legs and moves his face an inch from mine.
“Now that we’re alone, how about I do what I wanted to do to you this morning?”
“Okay,” I agree with a whimper as he slides his hands up the front of my shirt while taking my mouth before showing me exactly what I missed out on this morning.
Chapter 12
MISSING
FAWN
“Miss Reed.”
Looking up from the papers on my desk that I’ve been grading since school let out, I spot Tamara in the open doorway of the classroom. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I notice that it’s way past the time she normally gets picked up.
“Is everything okay, honey?”
“My . . .” Looking like she’s about to cry, Tamara takes a step into the room and pauses, dragging her backpack up higher on her shoulder. “No one has come to pick me up,” she says quietly, and I nod.
“That’s okay. Come on in and take a seat. Let me just get my stuff packed up.” I smile at her, and she walks slowly toward my desk. “We’ll just call your mom and let her know that I’ll take the train with you. Okay?” Most of my students take the bus home after school, but some, like Tamara, are picked up. On occasion their parents are late, and when that happens I call the parent and take the train with the child to make sure they get home safely.
“You can’t call my mom,” she says so quietly that I almost don’t hear her, and my body freezes as my eyes meet her worried ones.
“Why can’t we call her?” I ask, and she looks away, biting her lip. I can sense she doesn’t want to say whatever it is she’s about to say.
“My mom . . .” She drops her eyes from mine and looks at the ground. “She hasn’t been home in two days, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“Pardon?” I hope I heard her wrong, but I know I didn’t.
“My mom . . .” Tamara wrings her hands together and shakes her head, looking up at me. “She went to work two nights ago, and she hasn’t been home since then.” Oh my god. I fight the urge to close my eyes in despair.