Page 51 of Head Over Heels

She shakes her head, but her teeth clamp into her lower lip and I realize she’s trying not to smile.

A feeling like laughter fills my chest.

This is how it is with us, so opposite you’d think we’d cancel each other out like matter and antimatter, but good, too.

Not good. Great.

Amazing.

Chapter 27

Liv

I wake up feeling like I’m sleeping under a dentist’s lead apron. My limbs are so heavy with satisfaction they don’t want to move; my mind is so sluggish under layers of sleep I can barely string thoughts together.

Last night.

I almost purr with pleasure, remembering.

And then…

Shit! Didn’t set alarm!

I open my eyes and it’s almost 9:30. I was supposed to be up at 8:00 with Katie so Chase could go into the store.

I stagger downstairs and find Katie and Chase playing Candy Land on the kitchen table.

“Play with us!” Katie suggests. Or, actually,demands.

“She needs a cup of coffee,” Chase tells her. He gets up from the table, crosses to the counter, and pours me a steaming cup. He hands it to me and I bring it close to my nose, the scent alone swoon-worthy. I suck down a few glorious hot sips and feel infinitely more human.

“Why are you still here? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Thought you might need a little extra sleep,” he says, smirking, eyes warm.

I go hot all over. “But—”

“Brooks can handle the store for a couple of hours. I thought you and Katie and I could go in together and you and Katie could get fitted for some hiking boots.”

Oh. Right.Camping.

“Play Candy Land!” Katie exhorts.

“Let Liv drink her coffee and take her shower. I’ll play with you.”

“But I wantherto play,” Katie wails.

I brush her hair back from her face. “I’ll play Chutes and Ladders with you later while Daddy’s at work.”

“How ’bout this,” Chase says. “While Liv’s showering, I’ll tell you about something super fun I have planned for us. A camping trip! With Liv.” Chase shoots me a look. Triumph.

Bastard! He knows he’s sealed my fate. Telling Katie means there’s no way I can back down. I won’t break a five-year-old’s heart, not even to avoid sleeping in bugs and dirt.

Katie’s eyes are huge. “A camping trip? With a tent?”

“With a tent, and a cooking stove, and a special filter for making clean water…”

Even after I grab my mug and head upstairs for my shower, I can still hear his voice behind me, listing the instruments of my torture.

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