Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I tune her out and concentrate on what she had to say.
December 2: I just had the most incredible date with a guy who is… well, he’s not real. He just can’t be. No man on this earth can be as hot as he is and not be completely unaware of it. Hendrix didn’t see the women looking at him as we walked through the restaurant or the way the waitress kept flirting. He didn’t see it because he was looking at me. Absolutely focused on me. It was our first date. He had no idea if I was even interesting. And he sure as hell didn’t know if I was going to put out—
My head jerks up, and I grin at her. “Oh, you totally would have put out if your dad hadn’t been there.”
She smiles, and my attention goes back to the journal entry.
—but when he committed to taking me out on a date, he committed to me. A woman he knew nothing about, but from the start, he was in it 100%. He’ll never know what that means to me. I’m not talking about as a woman, because yes, it’s nice he focused on me and ignored the legions of adoring women.
I can’t help but snort. She’s embellishing, but I understand what she’s saying.
I learned things about him tonight that will have me pining to see where this goes. Hendrix does nothing in half measures. When he wants something, he goes for it. He understands the value of perseverance in the face of the unknown with the hope of good things on the other side. It’s that optimism that charmed me. That look in his eyes—candlelight flickering in his irises over dinner—ensnared me. I’ve known this man for one day, and my secret is that I’ve already started falling so hard for him that I think I’ll be destroyed if this doesn’t go the distance. He’s the first man I’ve ever met who I believe I could give my entire heart to. Hendrix is a man built for a woman to love for eternity.
Her words end, and my entire body buzzes with awareness. Stevie sits so still, her knee touching my thigh as my eyes run back through the last two lines.
He’s the first man I’ve ever met who I believe I could give my entire heart to. Hendrix is a man built for a woman to love for eternity.
Ever so slowly, my eyes slide from the journal page to Stevie who is watching me intently.
“You knew,” I say, dumbfounded that she could see so far into the future, especially after she’d been so difficult to agree to go out with me.
She nods. “Yeah… I knew after that first dinner.”
I toss the journal page onto the table and pull Stevie into my lap. Her arms go around my neck, and mine loop around her waist to hold her snug to me. “I thought it took a while for me to grow on you.”
Her laugh is gentle and tinkles with amusement. “Well, it was a long dinner. I think we were there for a little over two hours.”
“And has it all come to fruition?” I ask tentatively.
“Yeah,” she whispers, leaning her face closer. “You’re an incredibly easy person to love, Hendrix. It all played out just how I thought it would.”
Christ… I can’t even describe the sensations warring within my body over hearing that. The elation is so intense, I feel like my heart is about to explode out of my chest. At the same time, a blanket of peace settles over me, like something has “clicked” into place. Like perhaps something in my life was missing, and now that hole has been filled.
My hands go to Stevie’s face, and I stare her in the eye. “Okay… this is a big deal. I’ve never done this before, and I don’t want to mess it up.”
Her hands circle my wrists. “You won’t.”
I kiss her, slow and deep, savoring the taste of her. When I open my eyes, I find hers swimming with stormy emotion. “I love you, Stevie. You’re my first, and you’ll be my last.”
Her forehead tips forward and rests against mine. “You’re my first too. My only.”
I turn my head, bring my mouth to hers. While exchanging these words makes my chest swell with the most indescribable feeling, something else is swelling now, and the need to be inside her is almost panic-inducing.
Like if I don’t join with her right this very moment, the words we just exchanged won’t be sealed.
I slide a hand up the back of her sweater, palming the soft skin of her back. Pulling from the depth of the kiss so my lips hover against hers, I suggest, “How about you put those diamond earrings on and take off all your clothes so I can see them sparkle while I fuck you?”