Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Tara walks past her sister. “First of all, I don’t tell you everything. Second of all, yes, I turned in an RSVP, but I also added a plus one so yes, Cruz is coming with me.”
Tara’s sister holds her hand out to me. “Since my sister is so rude, I guess I’ll introduce myself. I’m Brynn, Tara’s younger sister.”
She’s holding her hand out to me like she wants me to kiss it or some shit. I grab it awkwardly, shake it, and then drop it. Since Tara told her my name earlier, I don’t say it again. She looks between me and her sister. “So how did you two meet?”
Fuck, I guess we should have come up with some kind of story, so I decide to stick with the truth. “Through my sister.”
Tara has to help a customer, and she keeps looking my way worriedly. She doesn’t know me really well, but there’s no way I’m going to fuck this up.
“And how long have you been dating?”
I smile and look lovingly toward Tara. “A few months.”
“And…”
Before she can get the rest of the sentence out, Tara comes toward me, and I grab both her hands. “Have dinner with me tonight? Red’s Diner?”
Tara’s face turns red, and I love seeing the blush in her cheeks. “I would love that, but I’ll be working late tonight.”
I put my hands at her waist and tug her softly toward me. “Please. I’ll come by here, we can walk to the diner, eat, and then I’ll walk you back.” She hesitates, and I pull her closer. “Come on, you have to eat. After dinner, I can come by here and help.”
Surprised, she smiles. “You want to help me make arrangements?”
“I’d like to watch you make arrangements. But yeah, I can help too.”
She’s smiling, and I see the instant that she remembers this is fake. She nods her head. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll go to dinner with you.”
She grabs my hand. “Sis, I’ll be back. I’m going to walk Cruz outside.”
I’m laughing as she pulls me out on the sidewalk. “I guess I’m leaving.”
She stops and looks up at me. “I just figured that was enough of a show.”
“We should probably get our stories straight, don’t you think?”
She points inside. “Wait. You were serious in there? You want to take me to dinner?”
I want to scream yes, but I do my best to play it cool. “Yeah, I want to take you to dinner. I mean, if your family is going to be convinced we’re together, we should probably know a little bit about each other.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not a date.”
“No, we have one date, and it’s on Valentine’s. This is a… study session.”
“Okay.”
I gesture to the window without looking at it. “We have an audience.”
She looks toward the front of the store, and I do the same. There are six faces, one being her sister, staring at us through the flowers.
She nods at me. “Yeah, we do.”
I bring my hands up and cup her face, and her eyes widen. I smile, looking into her big blue eyes. “I’m going to kiss you… is that okay?”
She nods, and I lean down to press my lips to hers. I intend for it to be a small kiss. Just a pecking of our lips, because of course her sister would expect us to, and she practically has her face pressed to the window.
But as soon as our lips meet, it’s like an electric shock travels through my body all the way to my toes. The way Tara gasps, I know I’m not the only one that feels it. I should release her, but I do the opposite. I move my hand to the base of her neck and deepen the kiss. For a split second, I think I’ve messed up, and then her hands slide around my waist, pushing her breasts against my chest. I take full advantage, tilting her head to the side and deepening the kiss. My tongue slides against hers, and when she whimpers, I have to force myself to pull back.
We stare at each other wide-eyed, and I am practically panting as I try to get my emotions and my hardening dick under control. “Tara…” I start, not sure what to say, but this is proof right here that this is a bad idea. I lose my head when I’m near her.
She smiles up at me. “It’s fine. I know it’s for show. You don’t have to worry about me falling in love or anything, big shot.”
I give her a stiff smile and realize that I can’t say the same thing. Right now, it scares me to death because I can easily see myself falling for her.
“Okay. I’ll be back at six.”
She steps back, and I grab her hand, threading our fingers together. She looks at our joined hands and then shakes her head, still smiling. “You’re laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”