Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“A hundred different things. A scientist. An astronaut. A pastry chef. A school librarian. I thought it would be cool to spend my days around kids and books.”
“You’d be great at that, Miss MacAllister.” Immediately I indulged in a hot fantasy about her. “Would you be a naughty librarian?”
She giggled. “Only for you. Hey, this is what we should do every night.”
I reached down to her ass and squeezed it, pulling her against me. “I could not agree more.”
“I don’t mean that,” she said, laughing. “I mean—yes, that too—but what I meant was that every night we should tell each other one secret. So that we know each other better than anybody else.”
“You already know me better than anybody else.”
“I do?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Are you surprised?”
“Kind of. I mean, I know we’re close now, and we were close then, but there were a lot of years in between.”
Turned on all over again by her skin on mine, I shifted her beneath me and settled my hips between her legs. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve never been close with anyone the way I am with you.”
She put her arms around my neck. “Are you saying that right now because you want to have more sex?”
“Yes.” I kissed her lips. “But I also mean it. What looks like a six to you might appear as a nine to me. It’s just a different perspective. Both things can be true.”
“You’re such a math nerd,” she teased.
“I also like the numbers six and nine.”
She laughed as I kissed my way down her neck. “I suppose both things can be true.”
NINE
FELICITY
When I opened my eyes, I was naked and alone in Hutton’s bed. Instinctively, I reached for my glasses on the nightstand, but they weren’t there, and I remembered I hadn’t worn them when I set out on my errand of seduction last night.
Smiling, I fell back against the pillow and pulled the sheets up to my chin. We’d had so much fun—the kind of fun I’d always imagined having in bed with someone, but had never experienced. Sex was always so fraught with nerves and expectations—what if I was a disappointment? What if he was clueless? What did this mean for the relationship? How could I sneak out fairly quickly afterward because I liked to sleep in my own bed, or worse, how could I get him to leave so that I could have my bed to myself?
But there had been none of that with Hutton.
He’d made me feel sexy and beautiful, and he was the hottest, most skilled, most attentive guy I’d ever been with. I didn’t have to worry about what this meant for the relationship, because there wasn’t one, we were just pretending. And I didn’t have to invent excuses for why I had to leave or come up with reasons why it was a bad idea for him to stay the night . . . I’d wanted to sleep next to him.
The bathroom door opened and Hutton appeared, dressed in running clothes. “Hey.”
“Hi.” I sat up and smiled, covers gathered in front of my chest. “Heading out?”
“Yeah. Want to come with me?”
I thought about it, but decided I didn’t really feel like jumping out of bed and exerting myself right this moment. Mostly I just wanted to roll around in his sheets and relish last night’s delight. “Nah, you go ahead. I might take a jog later or something.”
“Okay.” He leaned over and squeezed my foot under the blankets. “The housekeeper will be here in about an hour. I texted her that I had a guest staying with me, so she wouldn’t be caught off guard by the naked girl in my bed.”
I laughed. “Thanks, but I’m getting up in a minute here. I need to go into work.”
“Isn’t the restaurant closed Mondays?”
“Yes, but I have to check in with Gianni—I want to go over details for tomorrow night’s proposal and ask him about getting Wednesday or Thursday off. After that, I was thinking of making a few dishes and taking some photos in your kitchen. Will you be around for dinner?”
“You’re cooking? Fuck yes.”
“Great.” I smiled. “Say hi to the Prancin’ Grannies for me. Will they be heartbroken about your engagement?”
“Probably. But maybe they’ll stop bugging me about their granddaughters now.”
“Good luck.”
He waved, and I watched him head out, recalling his firm, muscular body on mine last night. I’d been right about his physique—there had been ridges and lines aplenty. But it wasn’t just the way he looked. The guy could move. Not just his hips, but his arms, his hands, his mouth.
That tongue.
My core muscles clenched, and I closed my eyes. Warmth billowed beneath my skin, sending a tingle from my spine to the ends of my fingers and toes.
I couldn’t wait for our next practice session.
I got dressed, packed up my laptop, and headed over to Abelard Vineyards. When I arrived, I headed for the lobby, waved at the front desk staff, and knocked on Winnie’s office door.