Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
This vibe in Whiskey’s is going strong. The music is getting louder, and the hustle over on the pool tables involves throwing in more money in the late hours if you want to play. But I’m only into the woman at my side and wouldn’t mind being alone with her again. Lifting my hat to cool off, I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand, and ask, “Do you want to get out of here?”
She stands straighter as if an opportunity has just presented itself. “Where do you want to go?” Knowing she’s up for anything with me feeds a part of me that has been starving for so long. I just didn’t know how much I was missing until she brought it to light.
“Anywhere with you.” Setting my hat on my head, I take another drink of water.
A smile tickles her lips as she glances down at my chest. Fidgeting with a snap on my shirt, she peers back up at me, and says, “Anywhere, cowboy? You sure about taking that risk? I’m a Dover, after all. The D stands for dangerous.”
She holds a straight face long enough for me to second-guess that she might not be joking. When a laugh bursts free, she pokes my chest. “You looked worried.”
“Not worried. I was thinking it was dessert.”
“Oh,” she starts, her brows wriggling into concern. “Are you hungry?”
Should I tell her? Nah. Showing her is best.
Taking hold of her hand, I bring it to my mouth and kiss her fingers. Turning it over, I place another kiss on her palm and then lower on her wrist, letting my lips linger in hopes of feeling her heartbeat. “Risk doesn’t scare me, especially not if you’re involved.” I chuckle, though. “The legendary feud between our families will either end or continue with us. Which will it be?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” She lifts on her toes and kisses me as if she’s stealing from a candy shop, and when she lowers, the grin on her face shows me she got away with it. She takes a drink of her water and then another. When she drags the tip of her tongue over her lip, she’s got my full attention, as if she didn’t have it already. She did. Wholly. Appallingly consuming every minute she gives me. Why the fixation? The fascination? Why her?
She’s unfinished business from years prior, the one time I made a mistake in my personal life, and the second chance I’ve been given. I’m not fucking it up this time. She was worth the wait, better than I imagined. Vibrant and drop-dead gorgeous. Funny with her quirks and full of secrets I want to uncover. Got a hot little temper and a side of vinegar to her snapbacks. I like that she holds her own and find her whip-smart wit so fucking sexy.
Cricket Dover is the full package.
Not that I could have known what I do now, but I was stupid for letting her slip away in the first place. I knew it then, and now I regret leaving her behind.
She grins with a tilt of her head and bats her eyelashes. “Should we get out of here?” Gotta love how she takes ownership of the idea. I don’t mind letting her take credit. She’s hot as fuck. That also gives her a lot of leeway in my book. “I need to let Savvy know. Be right back.”
She starts to saunter across the bar like she owns the place, her confidence on full display. Such a turn-on.
She only gets a few feet away before she stops. The way she angles gives me a stunning view of her profile. The straight of her nose, and the long lashes that curl skyward, her chin the southernmost point of her sweet face, and the gentle slope of her neck when her hair is pulled to one side as she studies the view ahead. I sure like looking at her, but it only gets better when we’re talking.
I hadn’t felt my heart in years until I laid eyes on her again. The beats were subtle, barely detectable thumps that confused me at first. But every time I’m near her, they grow louder, harder until I feel every beat deep through my bones. I feel it growing stronger. I feel, which is something I wasn’t doing at all before returning, before seeing her again.
I’m not sure what to think anymore. Women have never been a priority, but that was before I met her, and before I was set up like it was kismet to fall into the same place at the same time again. The signs are getting really hard to ignore, so I’d best start accepting that some things might be meant to be.
She comes back to me, stopping at my side while facing the exit. “I’ll text her. She’ll be going home with Blake anyway. I’ll save them the trouble if you can take me home?” Looking back in her cousin’s direction, I see she’s propped on Blake’s lap. Judging by their engaging conversation, I understand why Cricket came back. “Or I can call a—”