Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
The emotions must reflect on my face cause Brook is shaking her head. “No way, none of that. You were smiling earlier. Let’s go back to that.”
And just like that, I’m thinking of that kiss with Kanan and him telling me he wants me. There’s no keeping a smile off my face after that.
Brook laughs, “Oh wow! Okay, I’m not sure I want to know what that smile is about, but yeah, whatever you’re thinking about, keep thinking about it.”
I hold up my half-eaten sandwich. “Thanks for lunch today, Brook. And for the company.”
She pulls a tomato off her sandwich and eats it. “I’m glad to have you in Whiskey Run. “You’ll have to go out one night with Cassie and me.”
When she mentions her sister, I ask her with a knowing smirk, “How are your brother and sister?”
She rolls her eyes. “Har, har! Funny. They were STEP-siblings before getting married. They’re good. I know they’d love to see you, and now that you’re in Whiskey Run, we’ll all be able to do things together.” She reaches for my hand again. “You’re not alone, Emerson. We all love you, and we’re here for you.”
I pull her in for another hug. “I know. Thanks, Brook. For lunch, for coming to see me, for everything.”
She holds me tight. “Aw, you’re welcome, honey. Everything’s going to turn out like it should. Just you watch and see.”
Man, I hope she’s right.
CHAPTER 13
KANAN
I wait until Brook is gone before I go to see Emerson. She’s back to work, and she’s already made a lot of progress on the garden just since this morning. “You doing okay?”
She is on her knees, and when she hears me, she looks up at me with an instant smile on her face. “I’m doing good. Who knew working outside could be this much fun?”
I cross my arms over my chest. It’s either that or I’m going to reach for her. “Fun? You think this is fun?”
She laughs. “This is a lot of fun, actually. And Ricardo said I can pick out flowers to put in here.”
I grimace. I don’t know why it bothers me that Ricardo is getting the credit, but I’m not going to let it slide. “I told Ricardo I wanted you to have free rein of the garden. Do whatever you want here.”
She claps her hands together excitedly. “Brook said she’s going to have Walker put some tables and benches out here. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Before I can agree, she’s up on her feet walking past me. She grabs something out of a small cooler, turns, and hands me a sandwich. “Here, I asked Ricardo for a cooler so it’s been in it. This is the half of my sandwich I saved for you.”
I don’t put my hand out. “You saved half your sandwich for me?”
She nods and blushes prettily. “I figure if you’re going to worry whether I eat or not, I should do the same for you.” She holds it out. “Here. Eat it.”
I take it from her and hold it in my hand. “So you’re okay?”
She nods with confusion on her face. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She gasps. “Oh, you mean because of earlier. Where you kissed me and then told me that nothing can come of it?”
I wince because it sounds really bad when she puts it that way.
“That’s not exactly what happened.”
She walks over to me and stops when her chest is pushed against me. I have a swift intake of air and then hold perfectly still. “That’s exactly what happened, Kan. You dug your fingers into my waist until it hurt, but it was a good kind of hurt. Then you pulled my body up against yours, and I could feel how hard you were for me.”
She leans into me, pressing her hips to mine. “Sort of like now. And then when your lips touched mine, I thought for sure I was going to spontaneously combust right there. I literally thought I was a goner. I mean, I thought it would be good. When I dreamt about it, I knew kissing you would be good. But I had no idea it would be that good.”
Her finger is rubbing back and forth across my chest. I can feel her body tremble with every breath she takes, and it’s taking everything I have to stop myself from reaching for her, but I hold my ground, trying to act like I’m not fazed.
She places her palm flat over my chest, right above my heart. “You’re breathing hard, Kanan.”
I grit my teeth together.
She starts tracing her finger again, doing different shapes, and it’s driving me crazy. “I know all about breathing hard. When you turned me away today, I thought I would be okay. But when I touched myself in the shower, I was like a ticking time bomb. It only took a few flicks and a little bit of pressure, and I was exploding. After I came, it took me a while to get my breathing back to normal.”