Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 17220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 57(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 57(@300wpm)
It isn’t cinematic perfection. There are no fireworks over the lake, no swelling soundtrack. But even still, it’s the kind of moment that pales everything in my life before. Our soft laughs turn into smiles and then our smiles straighten, our lips meet, warm and full. Fire blooms in my veins, I feel euphoric all the way down to my toes—but the kiss isn’t wild. That will come later, I’m sure of it. I can feel need simmering, hot and electric, beneath his skin.
But this first kiss is unhurried, languid, and sweet. It’s chaste enough for a restaurant setting on Valentine’s Day, but intimate enough to carry the promise of something deeper, something hungrier, something I think I’m going to start to crave desperately.
With my heart pounding in my chest, I slowly settle back in my chair, and we stare at each other with giddy smiles.
Jude rests his forearms on the table, clasping his hands together and grinning smugly. “Well.”
“Well, indeed.” I reach for my water glass with a shaking hand, taking a sip, feeling overheated. Setting it down, I say simply, “My vote is something in a deep cobalt blue with gold filigree trim, the kind of pattern that makes even burnt toast look regal.”
Jude bursts out laughing but quickly composes himself to play along. “Really? I was thinking more along the lines of crisp ivory with a single thin band of matte gold. Something clean and understated.”
“I suspect we have some time to come to an agreement . . . that my selection is best.”
“Veronica Cochran, my beautiful neighbor, my brilliant Zoom crasher, and the most perfect first date of my life.” He reaches across the table, taking my hand. “I suspect we have all the time in the world.”