Page 43 of The Perfect Love

I drag my hand back to the steering wheel and clear my throat. “Same question. What could you not live without?”

“Hmm…” She looks out the window, then she gets that stunning, vibrant smile that makes my heart feel all warm and gooey. “Can you roll down the windows?”

“Uh, sure.”

I roll them all down a bit, but she grins at me and says, “All the way.”

So I do it. Then she turns the radio on, messing with the buttons until she finds a station. Before I can even process what song it is, she cranks the volume up.

“Holy shit. What—why?”

“This is it. This is what I can’t live without,” she yells over the music.

“Party in the U.S.A?”I ask when my brain finally comprehends what song it is.

She laughs, all sweet and sultry. “No. Not the song. Blasting music with the windows down. I swear it heals a little piece of my soul every time.”

She throws one arm out the window and sings along with the song, and damn if I don’t fall a little harder watching her.

When the song is done, she pulls her arm back inside and turns down the music.

“We’re almost to our next stop, so hit me with another question,” I tell her.

She thinks for a moment, then a wicked smile crosses her face. “The other night, I called you adorable, and you said you had plenty of different words you’d use to describe me. What are they?”

Damn, she’s good.

“Okay, for that, you’re waiting until we get to the parking lot.”

I navigate through downtown Old Lake Town until we get to the large parking lot on the main strip.

Once I’m parked, I turn to her.

“If we’re being honest, I don’t remember what all the words I was thinking that night were, but I’ve got plenty more words now. Better ones, because in only a day, I know you better. So let’s start with adorable. That’s what you asked me, and you are, but that’s the tip of the iceberg. You’re kind, thoughtful, funny, drop-dead sexy, hurting, strong, compassionate, and the kind of person I want to spend more time with and know in every way. You captivate me, Chelsea. I want more. So much more.”

She stares at me for a long moment, exhaling a shuddery breath. “That was…” She clears her throat. “A really good answer. And I want to know you better too.” She gazes at me, her eyes locking with mine for a moment, then she leans in and kisses my cheek. “Today hasn’t been at all what I was expecting, but this is my best first date ever.”

Good, because it’s your last one.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say it, but I don’t. There’s no question I see an epic future with this girl. She sees me in a way I’m not sure anyone else ever has before. Besides maybe my mom or Hyla, but still, something about this is different.

It’s right.

That’s all I wanted from today, and so far, so good.

Chelsea

Trevor Matteny is the sexiest man alive.

I said what I said.

It’s not the perfectly floppy curls or his star-flecked, raven-colored eyes. Not the grumpy exterior that’s always betrayed by his gorgeous smile. It’shim. His thoughtfulness, compassion, and big heart. He’s the squishiest marshmallow on the inside, and I love whenever I see that side of him. Seeing the vulnerable, aching side of him—while hard because I hate knowing he’s hurting—draws me to him even more. It’s so earnest and a rare glimpse of the real him.

The voices in the back of my head saying it’s too good to be true have been beaten to a bloody pulp. Because I’ve seen his nuances. He’s not perfect, but he might be perfect for me.

It’s hard to think anything but that when we’re standing in the bookstore so we can pick a romantasy book series to read together.

When he told me he wanted to do this, I almost melted on the spot. Technically, we’re just picking which series I already own but haven’t read yet that we want to read together so he can buy them too, but the idea alone is so damn swoony.

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