Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
She doesn’t utter any of those words, but still, they play in my mind over and over again.
“Delia!”
I cringe when I hear that voice - Clever’s voice - calling out to her. I should have known he’d play a part in this moment.
“Hey,” she greets him with a lot less enthusiasm than he has for her.
He doesn’t bother to notice, instead taking her into his arms for a tight embrace.
Her arms don’t circle him. The most he gets from her is a simple pat on the middle of his back from her hand.
“Matt was hoping to run into you again,” he explains as he finally lets go of her. “I think he wants to meet up with you when you’re back in New York.”
I should have pressed that Matt on his last name so I could find a way to divert his attention away from her, but I was too focused on getting Delia into my bed.
“I have a lot going on,” she tells him. “I don’t have a lot of extra time for hanging out.”
“Where do you work?” he questions. “You never mentioned that.”
“I go to school,” she explains something I already know.
Her brother has filled me in on that without realizing how much I valued that information. Delia is a scholar of sorts. She’s earned multiple degrees in various disciplines as she searches for the right career path.
I’m amazed by her genuine thirst for knowledge. I barely had the stamina to earn the degree that afforded me the opportunity to work in veterinary medicine.
“So, you’re super smart?” he questions with perked eyebrows. “I love smart women.”
Something tells me this kid loves all women. I don’t blame him. In fact, I was him when I was around his age. I fucked like it was a competitive sport and I was in training for a gold medal.
She laughs off the compliment. “I love learning.”
He nods. “I need to get back to work. I’ll tell Matt to keep an eye out for you on the streets of Manhattan.”
The smile she offers him in response isn’t genuine. “All right.”
He leaves us with a wave that is directed solely at her.
“Am I invisible?” I ask once he’s out of earshot.
That sends her head back in laughter. “Hardly. Look around. You’ve got a lot of eyes on you.”
I don’t bother doing that because she’s mistaken. Anyone glancing in this direction, is focused solely on her.
An announcement fills the air to share the news that the ship has docked.
Her gaze finds mine. “I guess this is it.”
For now.
I have no doubt I’ll see her again. I pray it won’t be long before that happens, but regardless, I can’t wait to get back to Manhattan because I’ll be closer to her than I will be for the next thirty-six hours until I board a plane headed for New York.
I step closer and cradle my hands over her face. “Delia.”
She gazes up at me. “Donovan, thank you. For all of it. For everything.”
I stare into her beautiful brown eyes. “Thank you.”
She glances down briefly before she’s looking at me again. “It was the trip of a lifetime.”
“I agree.”
“I should go.” She shifts on her feet. “It’s time for me to go.”
Not wanting that to happen, I lean closer to her. “One last kiss?”
She nods softly. “One last kiss.”
I lower my mouth to hers and kiss her with all the emotion that is stirring within me.
When we part, her fingers dance over her lips. “I’ll remember that kiss for a long time.”
I’ll remember it forever. Just as I’ll remember every single moment of this trip until the day I die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Delia
“You’ve been back for a week and all I know about the cruise is that you met a magician and his loincloth wearing friend.”
I glance at Nikita as she arranges chocolate bars on a stand on the front counter of her candy store.
Wolf Candy is a staple in Manhattan, and I’m a tried and true regular customer.
The issue with that is Nikita won’t take my money. Whenever I pluck a candy bar off the display or approach the check out counter with a clear bag filled with cinnamon hearts, she shoos away any attempt I make to pay.
Today, I’ve got a large piece of red licorice in my fist. I’ve been munching on it since I arrived here twenty minutes ago.
It’s barely eight a.m. so even though the store isn’t open yet, I’m inside of it.
That’s because I stopped by with two coffees in my hands.
“Who said there’s more to tell than that?”
“Anyone who knows you.” She shrugs, sending her long black hair sailing over her shoulder. “You must have had some fun on the trip. Did the magician and the loincloth guy double team you?”
“Eww?”
“Were they not hot?”
I think about that for a split second. “Both were hot, but not my type.”