Page 66 of The Kiss Countdown

“You must think everyone is an adrenaline junkie like you. That, or you were trying to kill me before we even got here.”

“Nah, I like you too much for that.” He winks. “But now that I know you’re scared of a few curves in the road, I’ll take the other way back. At least until we build up your tolerance.”

I shake my head, but otherwise make no comment.

The first place Vincent takes me to is his old high school. He pulls up to the front entrance and slowly drives around the semicircle for parent pickups and drop-offs.

“I don’t even recognize this place,” he says. “There used to be gates here so we wouldn’t leave the campus during lunch. Our tiny marching band used to practice on that side of the parking lot, but back then it was full of potholes.”

I follow his finger to the left, where high wire fencing surrounds a section of the parking lot and clear white lines shine against black pavement. I turn to Vincent. “How were you in school? Did you play sports? Were you homecoming king?”

One side of his mouth tilts up. “I was in the math andchess clubs, but otherwise I was pretty quiet and kept to myself most of high school.”

“Quiet?”

He ignores me. “I guess you could say I was pretty nerdy.” He narrows his eyes at me as I keep silent. “What, you don’t find that hard to believe?”

I suppress a grin. “I mean, it was you who had to tell me all about the physics of coffee and creamer. What was it, velocity? No, that’s the speed of something,” I say, recalling a morning of him trying to convince me to add creamer to my coffee.

“Viscosity,” he says with a frown.

“Right. How could I forget?” I run my hand over his forearm. “Don’t look so upset. Didn’t you hear? Nerds are in. Women are over the overbearing alpha. We want smart, emotionally available cinnamon rolls. If he knows his way around a science lab, it’s on.”

He turns so most of his body faces me. “I’ve got a science lab. A big one at that, where I get to examine all sorts of things.”

“Now, I just know you arenotusing your science lab as a euphemism for your... ahem.” I glance down at his lap.

Vincent clears his throat. “Of course not,” he says quickly. “I’m just saying the Space Station is one big science lab.” I hold in a laugh as he avoids eye contact, but he continues. “I have to admit, I’m stumped about cinnamon rolls, because I doubt you’re referring to the food. And as far as sexy goes, what do you think?”

I slowly let my gaze roam over him, from his low haircut to that chin he still hasn’t shaved, which goes to show that a rugged Vincent is just as devastatingly handsome as a tidy Vincent (not that the fact was ever in question), towell-honed biceps that make me want to drool to strong thighs and back up again.

I shrug one shoulder. “You’re all right.”

“Just all right?” He gestures at his body as if to sayLook at all this chocolate goodness.

And while I could eat him all the way up, there he goes with his big head, doing the most to get under my skin. “A man’s sexiness isn’t determined by well-defined muscles or a polite country drawl. Not enough is said about a humble attitude.” I look out the window, expecting some witty comeback. Instead, when I look back at him, I see his face is carefully blank as we begin driving away from the school.

I chew at my lip. Now I’ve hurt his feelings. When will I learn to rein in my snarkiness? And how can Vincent even need to ask about his appeal, when he’s in league to compete for the title of Sexiest Man Alive. He may have been a nerd in school, but he’s all alluring man now.

“Not that my opinion should matter to you, but do you want to know what I find sexy in a man?” I ask.

He glances at me curiously. “What?”

“I think it’s sexy when a man helps a woman out in her quick, ill-conceived plans when he could so easily walk away. When a man puts the safety and comfort of his friend as a priority, even though he’s under immeasurable stress. And”—unwittingly, my voice lowers an octave as I remember how good it felt to wake up pressed against him—“I am absolutely vain enough to think hard muscles and a cut jaw are some of the sexiest features a man can have.”

By the time I’m done talking, pride practically rolls off him in waves. I’m positive that if he had on a polo, he would have popped the collar by now.

Then he looks at me, eyes scoring me up and down, and thoughts of Vincent wearing a polo, or any article ofclothing for that matter, dissipate. I let out a slow exhale when he turns back to the road, willing the flames he ignited low in my stomach to cool. That weighted stare was loaded with hot promises, and I wonder if Vincent’s prepared to deliver on them. I’m certainly prepared to collect.

The next stop down memory lane is the local library. It’s bigger than I expected for a small town. It looks like a huge house, with red bricks on the front and white panels on the sides. It’s naturally landscaped to blend in with the rural town, with large trees, wooden benches, and a dirt path that leads to a large playground.

“Now, this is just as I remember it,” Vincent says. “Ready for story time?”

As it turns out, Vincent is leading story time. I sit in the back with the parents while he’s in front of a colorful carpet full of children singing the alphabet song and shaking their wiggles out.

“They’re so cute,” a woman with pink hair and perfectly laid edges says to me. She holds a sleeping baby in a wrap attached to her front while she strokes its back. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Which one is yours?”

“I’m just in town for a short visit, but I brought that one with me today.” I point at Vincent, laughing to myself.

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