Page 74 of The Do-Over

Right?

Or was this actually maybe sort of me…?

As we walked by an apartment with the blinds wide-open, we saw it at the same time. On the TV in that stranger’s living room, Rose and Jack were standing on deck, watching steerage passengers kick around a ball of ice that had fallen from the iceberg the ship had hit.

Titanicwas playing.

Nick didn’t believe in fate, and neither did I, but howweirdwas it thatTitanicwas playing at the exact moment we were walking by?

“Wow, you were so right, Hornby,” he said sarcastically, stopping in front of the window. “Playing soccer with iceberg chunks? That is obviously the best. Movie. Ever.”

“You’re a ghoul, Stark,” I replied, climbing off his back. “An absolute ghoul.”

We stood there for a minute, just watching the movie in the window, and when I glanced over at him, I was terrified at the thought of going home. Of ending the day.

He’d agreed to take me to my dad’s when we were done so I could sneak in and grab a key to my grandma’s house (wherein he could make fun of the boy-band posters that heknewadorned my bedroom walls) and then he was going to drop me at her place where I could sleep in peace with no parental third degree.

But he wasn’t going to remember it.

Not any of it.

The day had been unbelievably wonderful, yet when I woke up tomorrow morning, it wouldn’t have existed for anyone but me. For some reason, I had to clear my throat and blink fast to recover from the emotion that came with the realization.

He looked over at me. “You okay?”

I tried to sound light as I said, “I don’t want the DONC to end, Nicholas Stark.”

“Same.” He stepped closer, so his face was all I could see, and his voice went deeper and quieter. “And I’ve thought about it, and I really want my DONC to include kissing you, Em.”

“You do?” My voice was embarrassingly breathy.

“Yes.” He put his hands on my waist, one on each side, and leaned even closer. I could feel a hint of his breath on my ear as he said, “But I don’t want to if you’re still tied up about Sutton.”

My voice barely had sound when I said, “I meant it when I said I forgot that he existed.”

“So it’s okay, then?”

On a normal day, I probably would’ve given him a shakyOkayor maybe even aYes, please. But it was the DONC. The second half of the DONC, to be exact.

I nodded and in one move, lifted onto my tiptoes, put my hands on his chest and my mouth on his.

His lips were warm, and he kissed me like he’d been dying to kiss me for the whole of his life. My fingers curled into the soft fabric of his jacket as he opened my mouth with his, making me a little dizzy while he wrapped his arms all the way around my waist and pulled me closer.

Just like that, I could feel every inch of his solid body against mine, knees to chest to lips, and it made me weak as I slid up my hands and grabbed on to his shoulders for support. It was heady, heady stuff, being kissed by Nick Stark. He kissed me like he was trying to prove something.

Everything disappeared except the feel of his stubble against my skin, his fingers flexing on my back. He finally lifted his head and pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I felt almost shy as we looked at each other. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip and said, “Don’t you think it’s weird that before today—”

“We didn’t really know each other, and now it feels like we’ve known each other for years?”

I nodded. “Yes. I mean, it’s kind of…”

“Bizarre? For sure.” His eyes moved over my face and I could feel the vibration of his voice in his chest against my chest when he said, “I didn’t know you this morning, and now I know the feel of your hand in mine, the sound of your voice when you’re trying not to cry, and the taste of your mouth. I know that you hate potato salad and love that video with the cat that dings the dinner bell.”

I grinned, feeling swept off my feet by his words. I said, “And I know that the scar above your eyebrow was from the time Eric chased you into a heating vent; I know that you scream obscenities when a cool girl is beating you in a scooter race; and I know that you kiss with teeth. In a good way.”

His lips turned up. “It’s really only been one day?”

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