Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
And the thing was, it hadn’t been a big deal. He’d have done the same for any mate who was having trouble getting up the slope. It was way more fun to slide down with Catie next to him, both of them whooping it up.
Then had come the sixth run.
When his box had come apart at the same time that his shorts got all but yanked off. He’d risen to his feet at the bottom, rubbing his sore butt—to see Catie on her back halfway down the dune, cackling with laughter. She’d laughed so hard that she’d “crashed” her own sled.
It was one of his favorite childhood memories.
“What are you up to?” he muttered now, well aware which of the two of them was the troublemaker—his mother might not believe it of “sweet Caitlin,” but Catie was a demon child.
“Look happy,” Catie said before sliding her hand behind his neck and yanking down his head.
He could’ve resisted, but with his skin going hot and his heart thumping, he didn’t exactly want to. His breath kissed her lips, hers kissed his. Eyes of dark brown looked into his own, the specks of gold within as bright as her smile… and all at once, it wasn’t a game and he didn’t want to do this in front of an audience.
So he pressed his forehead to hers as if that had always been the plan. At the same time, she touched her fingers to his jaw, and her warmth burned right through skin and muscle to bone.
When they separated, it was with a shared awareness of a profound change between them.
Hoping his face didn’t show the depth of his emotions, he smiled and waved at the cameras while Catie did the same. When she was asked to pose on her own, he happily stepped aside and just admired her, his chest all puffed up because this incredible woman was with him.
Fears for what this meant or not, he was already having the best night of his life by the time they sauntered on inside the old theater with its baroque touches, extravagant and flamboyant. Not a place you’d find in a city, but it had survived in this little town—thanks to the fact it pulled double duty as the town hall, a wedding chapel, the graduation hall, and the same for any other event that required the space for more than twenty or thirty people.
Leon, hovering just inside, out of sight of the cameras, all but pounced on Danny the instant they entered. His eyes, usually a calm hazel, were as bright as floodlights, the pale brown of his hair a messy tumble against freckled skin. “I love you, man!”
Staggering back from the force of his friend’s hug, Danny said, “Whoa, dude!”
But Leon was too happy to care that he was strangling Danny. Squeezing him tight, he smacked a kiss on Danny’s cheek. “I love you. I love you.”
The two of them had met playing school rugby. Leon looked every inch the big, beefy rugby-player stereotype and had the gruff mannerisms of a back-country farmer. He did not go around making declarations of love to anyone—Danny would be surprised if he’d so much as whispered the words to a girlfriend.
Finally releasing Danny, Leon turned to Catie, who was just slipping away her phone. He stuck out his hand. “Thank you.”
Catie accepted his hand. “No, thank you for allowing in this gate-crasher. I’m so looking forward to the play—I read your post about Chaos Bones on your website, and it sounds amazing.”
Danny’s mouth all but dropped open. Because it sure as hell looked like Leon was blushing. Blushing. “Suck-up,” he said to Catie.
Shooting him a smug grin, Catie tucked her arm into Leon’s. “So, tell me more about how you put this production together.”
When Leon sent Danny a worried look, Danny just rolled his eyes, then walked to fall into step to Catie’s left. He knew what Leon didn’t—that Catie was genuinely interested. It was one of the things he’d always liked about her. She was devoted to her dream, but she made time to listen to the dreams of others.
So he wasn’t the least surprised when Leon ended up expounding exponentially on the project, a beaming human ball of joy.
“Danny.”
Turning at that husky female voice, he said, “Hey, Mara.”
She kind of arched toward him, but he stayed straight and glanced to the right as if distracted by something else. A sports reporter by trade, the curvy brunette was a beautiful woman. She’d also worked her way through most of the other single men in the squad. Danny had never been attracted to her, but having sown his own wild oats, he wasn’t about to judge her for her exploits.
He did judge her for being a snake.
Because he was certain that Mara was here to stir the pot. He’d seen her work the same “oh, I just wanted to say hi” shtick on a happily married friend. The poor guy had ended up with a furious wife and no idea that Mara had been hitting on him. It was the latter that had saved him—he’d been so clueless that his wife had accepted he’d done nothing to attract the attention.