Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Fuck. I wonder if she knows I’ll be the cowboy she’ll be trying to catch. The thought puts a wicked grin on my face. I hope it’s just as much of a surprise to her as her arrival in Blushing was for me.
Pulling up outside her home, I grab the few tools I’ll need and the replacement heater that I really should have picked up days ago before making my way to the door. She’s not exactly expecting me today, but I have some free time, and if she tries to fix the sink herself, I’m only going to end up here trying to fix her fuckup anyway. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Truth be told, I’ve been dying to come back here since the second I left her panting in her bed.
Things are starting to shift. The anger in my chest has finally started to dissipate, and I’m seeing things more clearly. I think seeing the way she so easily fits back into life here in Blushing has put things into perspective, and I’m seeing my future flash before my eyes.
Blair has always been mine, and now the idea of her packing up and leaving again has me in a nervous sweat. I don’t think I’m ready for her to leave quite so soon, and yet, here I am, showing up with bullshit excuses to help her with her renovations, which in reality, is only going to help her get out of here sooner.
God, I’m such a fucking idiot. If I were smart, I’d be coming up with reasons why this renovation needs to be extended. But at the end of the day, if she’s going to remain in Blushing, I want it to be because she wants to be here with me, not because she has no other choice.
My knuckles rap against the old wooden door, and I take a step back, putting space between me and the door so that Blair doesn’t have to barrel right into me the moment she opens it. Though come to think of it, maybe that wouldn’t be such a tragedy. I’ll take any chance I get to put my hands on her and feel that smooth skin beneath my palms.
The cheesy Christmas music stops, and I hear her moving around inside as she makes her way toward the door.
Fuck. Why is my heart racing like this?
Be cool, Nick. It’s just Blair. It’s not as though your whole future with her could slip away in the space of two seconds if you fuck this up. It’s not as though this is the woman you’ve been desperately wanting to make your wife.
Shit.
As her footsteps reach the door and the handle turns, I hold my breath as she finally pulls it open.
There she is. So fucking gorgeous, and the way her cheeks are already flushed with paint smears across her forehead tells me she’s been busy this morning.
Her eyes widen just a fraction, and I watch as she sucks in a breath. Hell, I wonder if her heart is racing just as fast as mine. “Oh, Nick,” she breathes, clearing her throat as though there’s suddenly something blocking it. “What are you doing here?”
A smirk pulls at the corner of my lips. “Your phone broken?”
Her brows furrow. “Huh?”
“I’m assuming you didn’t get a new number.”
Understanding dawns as her eyes widen again. Her jaw slackens, and I know without a single doubt that she’s going to try and play this off, acting as though she doesn’t know what I’m referring to. But let’s be honest, it’s not only been circling my head for the past two days, it’s been circling hers too. “What are you—”
“Tsk. Tsk. I saw the read receipt, baby,” I say, inching toward her, watching as her gaze lifts, always remaining on mine as though just as captivated by me as I am by her. “There’s no denying that you got my message. The question is, why haven’t you responded?”
Her cheeks flush a deeper shade of red, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I step right into her, my arm circling her waist as I drag her back inside her home, kicking the door closed behind her as the sounds of that night play on repeat inside my head. I press her up against the closed door and she gasps, her hand pressed firmly against my chest. And damn it, those beautiful eyes are still locked on mine. All it would take is for her to look away, to break the connection, and I’d be able to pull myself back. But the thought of letting her go pains me now that I have her in my arms and her sweet scent pulses around me.
I lean into her, my lips grazing the soft skin of her neck, and as she tilts her head, opening up for me, I can’t resist taking a small taste. My lips work their way up to the sensitive space just below her ear, and when she scrunches her fingers into the material of my shirt, holding on for dear life, I almost fucking lose it. Hell, at this point, I don’t even know what happened to her replacement heater, all I know is that it’s no longer in my hands.