Page 107 of Cinder
Dressed in a black button-up shirt under my cut and black dress pants, I damn near wear tread marks across the cobblestones as I wait for her to appear at the top of the stairs.
Christ, why is my heart beating so fast?
I pace the floor and let out a rough exhale.
I don’t know what’s happening to me right now. But my pulse is pounding in my throat like a war drum, and a bright excitement and thrilling anticipation light up my insides like it’s the goddamn Fourth of July.
Where is she?
I’ve never been on a date before.
And this is definitely a date.
I run a hand across the nape of my neck.
Swipe my thumb across my lip.
Try to swallow around the lump of eagerness and expectation lodged in my throat.
I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t see her until she is at the top of the staircase.
I look up and my pacing comes to a sudden halt.
Goddamn.
She’s so damn beautiful, I don’t know what to say.
In seconds, I rapidly recall the last couple of weeks and how it’s been between us. The banter, the chemistry, the back and forth between us, the afternoons in my bed— I had plenty to say then.
But now?
Fuck, I don’t have any words.
My mouth open, I watch her descend the staircase, looking like a queen as the beautiful sleeveless gown trails behind her.
Her hair is pulled off her face into a messy bun, but strands of dark cinnamon curls fall down to her polished shoulders.
She stops on the bottom step so we are eye level.
“Say something,” she says nervously.
I swallow, hard.
I’m looking into the face of an angel, and I can’t form words.
God, she’s perfect.
“You’re the most beautiful thing in the world.”
She smiles, and I lift her into my arms and kiss her, and as my mouth moves over hers, my heart cracks open and years of darkness drain into my chest and slowly disappear.
Because of her.
Because of this.
Because of us.
CHAPTER 48
