Page 65 of Up All Night

“Well, lucky for you, then, that you know the ultimate planner.” He squeezed my hand. “If you ever need any help, I’ll be there.”

“Thatislucky for me.” I smiled.

We couldn’t be more different when it came to planning and schedules. He was such an organized person compared to me. Besides my work schedules, there wasn’t anything I planned out. I liked to see what the day held for me and do whatever I felt in the moment.

I pictured West poring over a spreadsheet with every hour of his day planned out, making sure he was getting the most out of his day, which had me chuckling internally.

“With you being the ultimate planner, that has me wondering,” I started. “Have you evernotscheduled every part of your day?”

“I don’t schedule out every part of my day,” he argued.

I lifted one brow.

“Just most of it,” he amended.

I laughed. “That’s what I figured.”

And then I had an idea. Not only would it be fun, but it would also give me an excuse to spend time with West.

A wary expression crossed his face. “Uh-oh, you have that look.”

“What look?” I batted my eyelashes, feigning innocence.

“The look where you are about to tell me what our next game is.”

“It’s not so much a game but a challenge,” I corrected.

He ran a hand down his face. “Should I be scared?”

“Possibly,” I said, dragging out the word.

He chuckled. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

I took a step closer to him. “I challenge you to spend a whole day with me without planning anything. No alarms, no appointments, no bedtimes, no living by your watch.”

He was silent for a moment before his eyes turned predatory and he took a step, closing the gap between us, matching my intensity. “I’ll spend a whole day without planning anything if you spend a whole day with me having everything planned. Alarms set, appointments made, a bedtime, and living by your watch.”

I should have known he would want to have his own part of the challenge. I didn’t mind because that just meant another day spent with West.

“Deal.”

We were toe to toe, requiring my head to tilt back so I could look him in the eye. His head was down, keeping our eye contact, our hands still clasped.

“Deal,” he said, his voice low.

We were so close to each other now, I could smell his cologne, and I had to stop myself from noticeably inhaling it. His stubble was visible, and I wanted to run one of my hands along his jaw. My breathing picked up at being this close to him.

His blue eyes dipped to my lips, and my body flushed with heat at the small gesture. His head slowly started to close the distance between us, and my feet pushed me up without any conscious choice. My body wanted this as much as I did.

As our mouths inched ever so slowly closer, my eyes fluttered closed. West was about to kiss me. I never would have thought I’d want West Vanderhall, my grumpy neighbor turned friend, to kiss me. But now I wanted nothing more.

Would he be as controlled and precise at kissing as he was with his life? Or would he let his control slip, losing all thoughts of rules and time?

West’s hand gently cupped the side of my face, and I suppressed a sigh. The anticipation of feeling his lips on mine was too much. When we were close enough for our breaths to mingle, I felt like I was about to explode.

“Halle?” A voice rang out.

West and I jumped apart, and it was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on the moment.

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