Page 7 of Luke

Her mouth is open as she stares at me and time seems to stand still as the seconds stretch out between us in excruciating silence. Well, no. It’s not entirely silent. My heart is beating so loudly it’s all I can hear. Hell, she can probably hear it thumping in my chest at this point.

I know for sure I’ve said too much and I’m kicking myself because the last thing I want to do is scare her off or give her the wrong impression. But she asked, and I wasn’t going to lie to her. That’s something I’ll never, ever do.

“You’re it for me, too,” she whispers, nibbling at her lip. “And yes, it’s probably too soon for either of us to say something like that, but that’s how I feel. I knew there was something different, something good and right and… and amazing about you the first time we met. Now I know for sure. It’s just like you said—this is how it’s supposed to be.”

I’m so relieved that I pull her in close and wrap my arms around her without even thinking. She doesn’t try to stop me or back away, though. She just looks up at me with that beautiful smile, her lips slightly parted. Jesus, I want her so bad I can hardly stand it. If we weren’t in the middle of a public skating rink, I’d already be helping her out of her clothes. For now, all I can do is lean in and capture her mouth with mine, inhaling the sweet floral smell of her perfume and tasting the hint of margarita on her lips.

Kissing her is a hell of a lot more intoxicating than our watered-down drinks, and I already know this isn’t going to be enough. My hands are moving down her back, pulling her even closer so her body is pressed against mine, but I still want more.

“Come home with me tonight, Sophia,” I murmur between kisses. “I still have to keep my promise from last night.”

She gives me that curious look again. “Your promise?”

“I promised that tonight would be even better than last night, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right,” she laughs. “I remember now.”

“Come home with me,” I repeat, kissing her again because yeah, I’m already addicted. “Let me keep my promise. Let’s make tonight something we’ll remember for a long time.”

“Yes,” her breath hitches as she nods in agreement. “Let’s… let’s do that. Let’s make some memories together.”

6

SOPHIA

This has easily been the best night of my life, and it isn’t even over yet. We’ve been making small-talk on the drive back to Luke’s house, but we’re almost there now and my entire body is trembling in eager anticipation.

“Everything okay?” he asks, reaching over to place a hand on my thigh as we park in his driveway. “You got awfully quiet there for the last couple minutes.”

“Did I? Sorry, I’m just—I mean, yes, everything is good. Great, actually.”

Oh, God.

Why do I sound so unsure of myself right now? Because I’m definitely not having second thoughts. Not even a hint of doubt. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a tiny little bit nervous about being with someone new—even if he happens to be the hottest, most perfect man on the planet.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he says, giving my leg a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be just as happy to sit next to you and have a cup of coffee or watch a movie or something if you want to slow things down a little. We have plenty of time ahead of us and I’m not going anywhere, babe. So tonight doesn’t need to be anything you don’t want or anything you aren’t one hundred percent sure of, okay?”

Bless him for being so sweet and understanding. So thoughtful and considerate. But no. We’re doing this. I want him more than anything right now.

“Thank you for saying that,” I look over at him and silently will my voice to stop trembling. “If I’d had any doubts about what a good man you are—and I don’t have any doubts, for the record—but if I did, they’d be gone after hearing you say all of those sweet things.” I can tell by the look on his face that I’m not selling this very well. No matter how sure I am on the inside, my mouth seems to undermine me at every opportunity.

Which means I need to keep my mouth busy while I convince him I’m serious about tonight.

“Come on,” I say, reaching for my door handle. “Let’s go inside. We’ll see what happens from there.”

“Okay,” he grins, bringing my free hand to his lips for a moment and sending a fresh wave of liquid heat straight through my body before we both get out of his car. “But you’ll tell me if I’m moving too fast, right? I don’t want to push you into anything you’re unsure about.”

“I won’t let you push me,” I say as we walk up to the front door together. “I promise.”

But I will let you kiss me. And touch me.

Anywhere.

Everywhere.

I can hardly wait until we’re inside the house before I practically launch myself into his arms again. He laughs and kisses me as he nudges the door closed with his foot and half-walks, half-carries me into the living room.

Our kiss at the skating rink was so sudden and unexpected that I didn’t have time to fully appreciate it in the moment—well, not as much as I wanted to, anyway. Because yes, it was hot and amazing and made my whole body tingle, but this kiss? In the privacy of Luke’s living room?

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