Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“I took leave so I can go down with you,” I offered awkwardly.
“Okay, that would be nice.”
I let a few moments of silence pass, but I had to ask, had to know. “Will your mother be at the gala?”
“No.” She shook her head, keeping her focus on Juniper. “I doubt she’ll ever step foot in New York again. She chose where she wants to be.”
Right, because she was teaching somewhere. Well, that was one less complication.
The teacher yelled, the sound muffled by the glass enclosure, and Allie’s eyes narrowed as the girl next to Juniper started to cry.
“I’d love to see her raise her voice to Juniper,” I muttered.
“Megan, I think Olivia’s crying,” one of the moms to the right called out.
“Again? She really needs to learn how to take constructive criticism.”
Allie’s fists clenched.
“Do you want me to get a hotel for New York?” I asked her, and damn if my stomach didn’t go all queasy on me.
“No.” She shook her head. “The hotel prices there are ridiculous. Just stay at my apartment.”
Victory. “Sounds good.” I fought a smile.
The teacher’s voice escalated as the girls repeated some choreography, and then she threw a water bottle down the line of mirrors.
Oh, I think the fuck not.
“Quinn’s in another one of her moods today,” a mom noted like it was nothing.
I moved to rise, but Allie threw her arm over my knees. “Don’t. You’ll just make it worse.”
“I’m just supposed to watch a grown-ass adult throw shit four feet away from our niece?” I growled.
“Yes.” Allie’s arm locked like she was the seat belt and I was the kid in a car seat. “And then you trust me to handle it. This is my ocean.”
My eyebrows rose. I’d never seen Allie so much as raise her voice to anyone but me. “Fine, but if the next thing she throws hits Juniper—”
“It won’t. She doesn’t want to hurt the girls physically, just emotionally.” She withdrew her arm.
What kind of sadistic shit was that?
Four minutes left. Timing was crap, but we had a modicum of privacy here in the corner, and it had to be said. “Look, about what happened at the beach—”
“Don’t mention it.” She tensed.
“Allie—”
“I mean it, Hudson. Don’t mention it.” Her chin titled upward. “As far as I’m concerned those five minutes never happened.”
Damn it. My ribs constricted, making it difficult to draw the next breath. “But they did happen. You felt it too. It was real. At least be brave enough to admit it. We aren’t kids anymore.”
Precious seconds ticked by before she responded. Three minutes.
“Fine. It was real, and utterly foolish.” She turned her head, and our eyes locked. “If we want this to continue, it can never happen again.”
The feeling of victory fled as quickly as it had appeared.
“Is that a rule?” Because we were going to break the shit out of it. I would happily use every weapon in my arsenal—including our chemistry—to get another real moment out of her.
Her brow knit, and she faced forward again. “If we need to be affectionate like that in public, then fine. We’ll keep it short and impersonal.”
“Allie, nothing between us is short or impersonal, especially not when we get our hands on each other.”
“Precisely the problem.” She folded her arms, and I could almost see her throw brick after brick into the very walls I wanted to crush. Two minutes.
“You’re really fighting for your life in there, aren’t you?” I asked.
She stiffened.
“That kiss scared the shit out of you.” I waited until I was sure she wouldn’t answer. “Why? Because you enjoyed it? Because we both lost control? Or because for five blissful minutes I got behind that mask you love to wear?”
She slipped her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
“Here’s the thing. I’m not scared to admit that I want you.” It was the easiest of the confessions I owed her.
Her lips parted.
“I haven’t earned my way out of you hating me yet, and this arrangement is a summer thing. You made that clear. But you want me too. I know it. You know it.” Her pulse leapt in her throat, and I swallowed. “And when you’re ready to admit it, five minutes won’t cut it. I’ll devote hours, days, nights to being incredibly personal with you.”
“Hours?” She arched a brow my direction, but even her perfect control couldn’t keep the blush from rising in her cheeks. “I’d almost forgotten how arrogant you can be.” She shook her head.
“It’s not arrogance if you can back it up.” I held her gaze. “Say the word.”
Pink stained her cheeks and she ripped her gaze from mine. “Oh look, class is over.”
And so was the moment.
She stood, gathering her purse and an aluminum water bottle from under her chair as girls in the studio beyond the glass took off their pointe shoes, grabbed their bags, and began exiting the studio through the door on the right.