Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I smiled up at him. “Lead the way,” I said and he slid his hand into mine and pulled me with him as I followed him out.
I thought once we were outside he would let my hand go, but he didn’t; he kept it in his until we got to his truck and he unlocked the doors. “Get in, Elizabeth.” His voice was tight.
I got in and watched him walk around the front of the truck before opening his own door and getting in. He started the truck and then looked over at me. “You look really good tonight.” His voice was husky. “Actually, you look good all the time.”
“You’re one to talk.” I tried to flirt back but my flirting game was at a solid two. He reached for me at the same time I reached for him, and in the middle of the parking lot, we shared our first kiss. His tongue slid into my mouth as his hand went to the lever under his seat to push it all the way back as he pulled me into his lap. Our mouths never letting the other go as the kiss was everything that I’ve ever thought it would be and more. I shivered on top of him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that it was freezing cold outside and all I had on was a tank top and an oversized zip-up sweater. It had to do with the fact that his hands were now moving from my hips to my ass.
“Fuck,” he hissed out as my eyes slowly peeled open, “Elizabeth.”
“Nate.” I put my hands on his chest, as I felt his heart hammering as much as mine was.
“You want to come home with me?” The question was one that I thought I would never hear. It was also one that I knew the answer to without even having to think about it.
“Yes.” I said the words out loud and then I kissed him again. This time it was me who kissed him first, but it was definitely him that ended the kiss, only to put my ass back in my seat and drive us to his house.
The bathroom door is pushed opened, ripping me from the past, and Macy comes in with another one of her bridesmaids and I just smile at them. “Your performance was so good,” Macy compliments me. “Thank you for doing it for me.”
“Of course,” I reply and then shake the water off my hands, before grabbing a couple of paper towels to dry them off. I pull open the door and step back into the bar. My eyes roam over everyone, but I know I’m looking for him, even if I want to tell myself I’m not.
He and the maid of honor are exactly where they were before, this time the two of them have their heads closer to each other, and I don’t even know why but my stomach sinks. “Hey,” Jack says, walking out of the bathroom, “you okay?”
I swallow down the lump. “Yeah, just jet-lagged,” I tell him and put on a fake smile, trying not to look over at the bar.
CHAPTER 8
Nate
WINTER WONDERLAND
“You could maybe tell a couple of stories of when you were both growing up,” Belinda leans into me to say because the music is so loud. One of the ushers is with his wife, screaming into the microphone. The two of them are dressed in matching outfits so we know they’re together. “And if you have any pictures, we could maybe throw them together to do a slide show while we tell the stories.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I tell Belinda, the maid of honor, who asked me if I wanted to make a speech with her at the wedding. We’ve been putting it together a bit while we’ve been together the last couple of weeks.
The sound of applause now fills the room, and I look over, clapping my hands with everyone else. My head starts to throb. “The next ones up are,” the emcee says, sticking her hand in the bowl and pulling out the paper, “Belinda and Jenny.”
“It’s your turn to shine,” I say. Jenny rushes over to come and grab Belinda.
“They will be singing”—the emcee smiles at the crowd—“‘Run the World (Girls).’”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the bowling thing,” she says. “We can work on it more then.”
“Sounds good.” I lean into the bar and then look around for Elizabeth, who is now sitting at a table with Jack and Evie as they laugh at something. I grab my beer and head over to their table, pulling out the chair next to her. She looks up at me. “I was wondering where you were.”
“What?” she questions, her eyebrows pinching together. “Where did you think I would be?”