Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“Oh shit.” I tug the drape around me, hiding in the material like a serial killer. I laugh since he can’t see me anyway. I peek again, having already memorized his body to recognize anywhere—his broad shoulders anchoring his athletic build—when he comes down the drive with a crate in his hands. He’s too attractive to hide in a crowd, even if I can’t see his face, and a coat covers half his body. The man could be a model. Wonder if he ever has, like every other guy in this city.
I should have turned my light off so I could stand here and ogle him in peace. But I’m not moving an inch until he’s out of sight again. I don’t want him to think I’m a creeper. I roll my eyes, still not daring to look down at him again.
The cargo door slamming closed drags my attention back to the truck, but the employees have already disappeared. I look down the street to see if I can find him, but they’re all gone, loaded into the truck or the SUV.
Disappointment strikes fast, and more than it should, since I barely know him. I should let things take their natural course. My phone vibrates on my bed, and I dive for it. The number is unfamiliar, but I take a chance and answer it, “Hello?” My voice is breathy despite simply losing it by moving too fast for my own good.
“Are you coming or what?”
I pause, holding the phone out from my ear to look at the number again. Unknown caller. “Listen, pervert, that’s none of your business—”
“Sosie, it’s Keats.”
My head jerks back on my neck. “Keats?”
“The server you met tonight?”
I hate that he thinks I don’t remember him, but I’m too busy grinning like an idiot because he called me. “Hi.” I don’t even mind that my response came out more as a purr. “What are you doing?”
“Freezing my ass off. You want to go do something together?”
Rolling across the bed, I land on my feet and scurry to the window. “I thought you just left?” When I look out the window, there he is. He waves, and even from here, I can see him smirking.
“I stayed.”
I bite my lip. The possibility of spending time with him has my heart racing as I wave back. “Why did you do that?”
With a shrug, he replies, “Wishful thinking.”
As much as I love this game, I cut to the chase. “What were you wishing for?”
“More time with you.” He’s good, very good, and already has me eating out of the palm of his hand with those sweet romantic words.
“I’ll be right down.”
CHAPTER 4
KEATS
Huddling under the lamppost in front of Sosie’s house, I couldn’t decide whether it was better to be seen so people wouldn’t report me to the cops or to stay hidden so nosy neighbors wouldn’t spot me. I went with remaining in the open.
The police car pulls to the curb, making me regret my decision. “What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting,” I reply, thumbing over my shoulder. “My . . .” What is Sosie to me? A friend, boss, client, or new crush? I nod toward the house. “My friend is meeting me.” I keep my feet moving and rub my knit-gloved hands together to stay warm.
The officer in the passenger seat looks beyond me and asks, “You sure about that? It’s four in the morning.”
“He’s here for me,” Sosie calls, trotting down the front steps as she runs for the gate. How am I the lucky guy she’s running to? Seeing the exhilaration in her bright eyes could knock me on my ass if I’m not steady and release the tension that has been building in my shoulders. She might be saving my ass from the cops, but I’m the one on the receiving end of that incredible smile on her face. Have I entered another dimension, snuck in through a side door to an alternate reality? Like the way my chest tightens just looking at her, how is this real life? It sure wasn’t mine. Until Sosie.
She latches the gate behind her and runs to me. I might be wrong, but I think she’s about to launch . . . I catch her in my arms, her body landing hard against mine, legs wrapped around my middle and arms holding me tightly around the neck. But the kiss is what has me disappearing into her, my thoughts settling into the comfort of her in my arms, my soul feeling at peace, and her lips taking to mine like we do this all the time. The cushion of her lips and the way her fingers caress my neck have me hoping it’s one of many more to come.
I never really considered myself a romantic, but I feel alive for the first time by the connection, my mind losing any cares outside of what our lips are doing, and I feel a shift in my core’s axis. Holding her to me, I tilt my head to take this deeper, but she pulls her lips from mine too fast. Smiling at the police, she waves. “Thanks for keeping the neighborhood safe. Merry Christmas.”