Page 96 of Kiss Me Forever

"What are you thinking?" she asked between bites. “You have an interesting look in your eyes.”

“I'll tell you that another time.”

I remembered the conversation after the girls’ night out vividly. I didn’t want to scare her away, talking about the future. She had the competition to focus on.

“Come on, let's take this to the committee's office.”

Her eyes widened. “You want to go with me?”

“That thing is huge. How were you going to carry it by yourself?”

“You’re right. I didn’t think about that.”

“Okay, then, let's go.”

She pointed at my chest. “You’re putting on a shirt, right? I only want you naked for me.”

I stepped closer, trapping her between myself and the wall. “I'm only yours, baby. All yours. Wait here. I'll put on a shirt.”

Even between the two of us, the thing was not easy to move around. It barely fit in the back of the car. "Why did they even make you do this on a Saturday?"

“They just assigned people based on the letter of their last name. People withP,R, andSare coming today. I hope I won't run into Carson.”

I narrowed my eyes. “We’ll deal with him if you do.”

“Oh, I don’t plan to deal at all. I’ll just ignore him.”

“I won’t. He hurt you.”

“Luke, please. The less we interact with him, the better. Promise me.”

“I promise,” I said grudgingly. Holding back wasn’t my strong suit, but I wanted her to feel at ease.

We arrived at the location twenty minutes later. It was all very well laid out. There were arrows from the entrance of the building to the room for model storage, which was on the second floor.

I was carrying the model, and Meg opened the doors. The drop-off room was huge, with at least seventy tables all labeled with the participant’s names. We found Meg's and immediately put it there.

"Why did they allow us to see the rest?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"At this point, it doesn't matter. It’s too late to change anything." Personally, I was not a fan of these 3D models. They weren’t easy to create, and they weren't detailed enough. I understood when a client wanted to see the concept, but at least we had an opportunity to explain what they couldn’t see. But when professionals wanted these to judge a competition, I thought it was absurd.

"Are you happy?" I asked after I placed it on the table.

She moved her weight from one foot to the other, reaching out for the model and then pulling her hands back.

I laughed. "If you had glue, you'd still modify something, wouldn't you?" She was a perfectionist. I admired that about her.

“Yes."

"Come on, babe. Let's go." I put a hand on her back as we headed toward the door.

A guy came in, carrying a model as well.

Megan stood ramrod straight. "Carson."

I took my hand off her back, but I was sure he'd noticed it, because he smirked. I didn't like it.

"Megan, you're here. And you are?"

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