Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Smirking, she asked, “What, no Flower Child comment?”
Lifting my eyes, I met hers. “You’ll always be my Flower Child, Lili.”
She blinked a few times, then looked down before smiling. “I should get going. It was such a great day. Being an only child, our Christmases were always pretty quiet. I can’t remember the last time I had such fun on Christmas Day. Your family really is the best.”
I nodded. “They are.”
Opening her car door, she bit down on her lip before laughing slightly and sliding into her seat. I shut the door and waited for her to start it. When she rolled down her window, I said again, “Text me when you get home?”
“I will,” she replied softly. “Merry Christmas, Caden.”
Making myself step back, I raised a hand, “Merry Christmas, Lili.”
She slowly backed out and headed down the long drive. I stood there and watched her go, until I couldn’t see the red brake lights any longer.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath before exhaling. “What in the hell are you doing to me, Lilibeth Asher?”
Turning, I slowly headed back into my parents’ house.
Lilibeth
After texting my parents and Caden to let them know I was home safely, I put some wood in the fireplace and got a roaring fire going. Stepping back to admire my handiwork, I placed my hands on my hips and nodded.
“That fire deserves a good book to help me get Caden Wilde off my mind.”
Today had been exhausting in both a good and a bad way. I’d had so much fun spending Christmas with the Wildes, but trying not to look at Caden every other second was difficult. Why did I have to feel the way I felt? It would make it so much easier for me if he was still an asshole. And that smile. I closed my eyes and sighed.
“That smile.”
With a quick shake of my head, I walked away from the fire and toward the bathroom.
“It was a one-time thing, Lilibeth. You knew that, so now you have to let it go and move on. You got what you wanted.”
Staring at myself in the mirror, I let out a humorless laugh.
“Who are you kidding? You are so head over heels for that man. You have to snap out of it, girl! He doesn’t want a relationship.”
I pushed all thoughts of Caden out of my head as I washed my face and took my hair out of the ponytail. I gathered it up and piled it on top of my head in a loose bun, then changed into my favorite Christmas pajamas. An impulse buy, because I adored Moose. They were flannel, with little moose all over them, saying “Merry Moosemas.”
Maneuvering around my boxes, I walked over to the small stack of books I hadn’t packed yet and randomly picked two. The first was Lacey Black’s A Simple Request. The second was Make the Play by Kaylee Ryan.
Placing them both on the coffee table, I moved my finger back and forth. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…”
I picked up Make the Play and smiled. “You’re the lucky winner. We get to spend Christmas night together.”
Settling on the sofa, I covered up with a blanket, took a sip of my hot tea, and opened the book. Snuggling down into the cushion, I got ready to lose myself in a fictional world for a bit—but a sudden knock on my door had me pausing before I could begin.
“Who could that be?”
I reached for my phone and pulled up my doorbell camera app. My eyes went wide with surprise.
“What in the world is he doing here?”
I quickly pushed the blanket off me, set my book down, and went to answer the door. Once it was open, I tried to ignore the way my heart fluttered in my chest at the sight of him standing there.
“Caden. Is everything okay?”
He took one step, cupped my face in his hands, and moved us back into the house, kicking the door shut behind him. It didn’t take me long to completely melt against him as I got lost in a kiss that almost felt frantic, on both sides.
Drawing his head back, he looked into my eyes. “I had the fight of my fucking life to keep my hands off of you today.”
Smiling, I lifted my own hands and pushed his jacket off his shoulders, then onto the floor when he dropped his arms. “I felt the same.”
His hand returned to the side of my face, his thumb brushing softly over my lips. “I know I said just those two days were it…but I can’t stop thinking about you. Dreaming about you. I need you, Lili.”
My heart felt as if it did a quadruple spin in my chest at his words. I wasn’t going to think too long and hard about what they meant, though.