Page 78 of The Do-Over

“I love you, Nick Stark.” I blinked fast and was surprised by how emotional I felt. My throat was tight as I said, “It won’t count tomorrow and it’ll be like I never said it, but onthisValentine’s Day, I fell in love with you.”

His jaw clenched, flexing and unflexing, and I watched his throat move as he swallowed.

I whispered, “But only for today, I promise. Tomorrow it’s all gone.”

He looked at me like he was frustrated and confused and also completely into me in spite of himself, and I felt the gravitational pull of him leaning closer.

And then he looked down at his watch. Pressed a button.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and leading me off the porch. He was nearly running as he pulled me over to the dark side of my grandma’s house where there were no porch or street lights shining. His feet crunching in the snow, he walked toward me until my back was against the cold siding of the house.

We were face-to-face. With a shaky breath, I said, “What are you doing?”

“There’s only seven more minutes.”

I felt dizzy as he looked down at me through the most intense gaze. “So?”

His body leaned into mine as he cupped my cheeks and breathed against my lips, “You only love me for seven more minutes.”

I raised my hands and set them on his jawline. He lowered his face, and I whispered, “Let’s make it a good seven, then.”

He couldn’t know that tomorrow none of this will have happened, but he kissed me like we had seven minutes before the world ended. I felt his fingers on my back and against my skin as they slipped under my sweater. This was Nick Stark—those were his confident hands—and my heart was absolutely his at that moment.

His heart was pounding under my fingers, and our bodies strained against each other. And then, in the blink of an eye, it changed. Our kiss didn’t get slower, but suddenly felt deeper. Or maybe that was just me, because I was hyperaware of how this moment would disappear with the morning, but things became rich, every movement meaningful and infused with emotion.

Nick kept kissing me lightly, but his eyes opened. I felt light-headed as we watched each other, his blue eyes making me dizzy with their intensity. His hands were still on my back, but his fingertips were softly stroking along my spine. He lifted his mouth the tiniest amount and whispered my name against my lips, and then—

“Dammit.”

He stepped back and his hands fell to his sides. It took me a second to hear the beeping and understand.

Our seven minutes were over.

The DONC was done.

He scrubbed his hands over his cheeks, looked down at my face like he was disoriented, and then he said, “Christ. I don’t want this, Hornby.”

“What?” I swallowed and shook my head. “Oh. I know. It was nothing.”

“Emilie!” My grandma’s voice rang out from the front yard. “Are you out here? Your keys are in the door and there’s a truck in my driveway. I’m calling the cops if I don’t hear—”

“I’m here, Grandma,” I yelled. Nick and I put even more space between ourselves and straightened our clothes.

“Listen, Nick—”

“Come on, before your grandmother calls the cops,” he said, cutting me off. He grabbed my hand, leading me around to the front yard. I followed, still processing what had happened, and when we reached the porch, my grandma looked a little ferocious as she scowled at us.

“Grandma, this is Nick Stark,” I said, hoping my lips weren’t swollen from the kissing. “Nick, this is my grandma Max.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Please get off my porch,” she replied.

He nodded and smiled like he appreciated her bluntness before he walked to his truck and drove away. I just stood there, watching, as my mind replayed every little thing we’d done on that incredible day.

“I’m going to kill you in the morning, dear,” my grandma said, opening the door and stepping inside. “But I need some sleep first.”

I stayed on the porch, wishing the night would never end. “I love you—g’night, Grandma.”

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