Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
She sighs heavily. “Yeah, wait until I tell you that when your boys are his age.”
“Oh, it won’t be an issue for me. My boys are both becoming priests.”
The song “Monster Mash” comes on and Tess does a spin of celebration. She drags me and Stella to dance with her in the living room. The punch is making me feel light and happy.
I squeal when “Thriller” starts because Tess and I learned the dance as kids and we do it every Halloween. Every year we lived together, we did it in our tiny little living room at least ten times every Halloween season. I’m going to miss our impromptu dance sessions.
After a couple hours, lots of dancing, and four cups of punch, I see Rowan standing in the dining room. When I catch his eye, he smiles.
“Hey,” I say as I approach. I stumble and he puts an arm out to steady me.
“Easy. You doing okay?”
I grin and do a little dance with my hips, the alcohol making me carefree. “I’m great. How about you?”
“Better now that you’re here.”
His teammate Colby takes that as his cue and nods at us before walking away. Rowan’s gaze on me is intense, making me feel like we’re the only people here despite the laughing and loud music surrounding us. I sip my punch, suddenly nervous.
“C’mon,” he says, taking my hand and leading me out of the dining room.
My heart races as he leads me back through the kitchen, weaving through costumed partygoers engrossed in conversations. He takes me to the laundry room, closing the door behind us.
The sounds of the party dulled; I swear I can hear my own heart pounding. Is this what a year away from men has done to me? I’m sweaty and breathless as Rowan moves closer to me, looking down into my eyes.
“It’s hard to take you seriously in that costume,” he cracks.
“Oh, I can...” I take off the costume glasses and put them in my pocket. “Does that help?”
He nods, his smile sliding away. “You’re so beautiful, Cam. And you’re funny and sweet and smart as hell. I’ve wanted to take you out since the first time we met, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so if you don’t want to, I’ll stop mentioning it.”
Just the thought of him becoming distant makes me frown. No. I don’t want him to stop mentioning it. I like our flirtation, and even though it’s scary as hell to think of risking heartbreak again, I think I’m ready.
“I want to,” I say softly.
His whole face lights up. “You’ll go out with me?”
I nod. “I’m sure I’ll be rusty after a year away from dating, but--”
As I’m talking, he rips off his fake stache, giving me a little smile before his lips find mine and he cups my cheek with one of his huge hands. I like that I didn’t even have time to freak out about it. With a little moan, I grab a handful of his shirt and pull myself closer to him. He wraps an arm around my waist and deepens the kiss, his tongue brushing against mine.
God, it feels good to be kissed. And Rowan is damn good at it. His body is as hardened with muscle as I fantasized it would be, and he smells faintly of pine and leather.
He slides the wig off my head and moves his hand from my face around to cradle the back of my head. When his other hand presses against the small of my back, our bodies align and I feel his erection pressing against my midsection.
He pulls back, his breath warm on my lips.
“Goddamn,” he says softly. “I have to stop or...” He rests his forehead against mine and laughs a single note. “We’re going on a date. I got ahead of myself.”
I’m glad we’re too close together for him to see how giddy my smile is. That kiss was wow. Definitely the best first kiss of my life. What if this is really something, and I could end up as happy as Tess is with Dom?
Now I’m the one getting ahead of myself. I deflect with humor.
“Did you want me to wear the Dwight costume on our date? It seems to be working for you.”
He laughs. “Pass. Just come as yourself.” He brushes a soft kiss onto my forehead and I inwardly swoon. “Does this mean you’ll finally give me your number?”
“Yeah.”
“So we’re finally doing this. A real date.”
“A real date. But you know my schedule is complicated with my boys, and you travel--”
He silences me with a finger on my lips. “We’ll figure it out, Cam.”
I nod, his decisiveness and certainty sending a thrill straight to my heart. Waiting nearly a year to accept a date was something I chose for me and it had nothing to do with any specific man. But it feels pretty amazing to know that Rowan is still here. And he still wants me.