Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
But he doesn’t let my hand go. I wonder if he feels the vibe between us, the current of energy that moves from his hand to mine, as if something magical and wonderful transfers between us. And that’s only from holding his hand.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Thank you.”
He won’t let my hand go, and I know if he does I might cry… again.
“Noah… can you imagine being married the rest of your life to a boring, dull, ugly person?”
He smiles his sad smile again. “No, Chandra. That sounds like Hell on Earth.”
“Thank you,” I say with a sigh. “It does.”
I hear my name being called and the voice isn’t far off. I yank my hand from his, suddenly vividly aware of what happens if we’re caught.
“I need to go,” I say, unable to hide the panic in my voice.
“Go,” he says, gesturing for me to scurry by waving a hand at me. “Be strong, Chandra. Until we meet again.”
I wake with a start and blink into the darkness of the room. The dream… no, the memory was so vivid, I can feel tears spring to my eyes. It takes me a minute to realize where I am and when I do, I keep my breathing quiet, and don’t move on the bed. I don’t want him to know I’m awake yet. Is he here?
I look around the room. When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I look down and see his body on the floor beside the bed. My God. He slept on the floor in the dead of winter? I peer over cautiously. He’s lying on a blanket, with another blanket pulled up over his arms, dead asleep, like a watchdog keeping vigil by my bedside.
“Noah,” I hiss. Then I roll my eyes. “Axle.”
Who the heck gave him that name?
He shifts and grunts but falls back asleep. I reach down and shake his shoulder. “Hey. Wake up!”
He sits up with a start and blinks up at me.
I can’t help but giggle. “Sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He frowns. “What’s up?”
“For goodness sakes, it’s freezing. Why are you on the floor?”
He scrubs a hand across his eyes and yawns. “You see any other beds in here?”
I sigh. “Well, you don’t have to lie down there anymore.”
He gets up and sits on the side of the bed. “What time is it, anyway?”
Pulling his phone from the bedside table, he clicks it on. “Jesus,” he mutters. “Seven in the morning.”
“Sorry,” I mutter, not sorry at all.
He swipes his phone on and looks at the weather forecast. “Another foot of snow,” he says with a whistle. “No one’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
My belly dips. I can’t be alone with him much longer. He makes my pulse race. My mouth goes dry and hell if I haven’t replayed that smack on the ass he gave me a dozen times. “Excuse me? Um, no. I’m going home today.”
Frowning, he continues to read on his phone, then he puts it down and shoots me a stern but kind look. “Not sure about that. I’ll call Tobias in a few.” Looking down at me, his brows knit with concern. “You feeling any better?”
No, my mind says. But I know he’s asking about my stomach.
“I think I’m fine,” I say. “Must’ve been something I ate.”
“Mm,” he grunts. “Maybe. We’ll see about that, though.”
He’s not buying it, but I’m not entirely sure I know why.
I watch as he heads to the bathroom, and when the door to the bathroom shuts, I’m alone with my memories. I close my eyes, and my mind fades back to a memory I’ve replayed over so many times, every single detail is vivid.
I walk into the darkened hallway, and Noah’s pacing. Before he sees me, he runs a hand through his dark hair, making it stand up crazily, like a madman. I scared the hell out of him tonight. I was supposed to meet him at nine, but I got caught up with my friends and I’m so crazy late. It’s two years after I met him, and I’m now twenty-one.
The man I was supposed to marry broke it off, to my immense relief and my parents’ utter dismay. He eloped with a woman from Canada, and no one has seen him since. It would have been a blessing to me if my parents had seen it that way.
I snuck away, because my parents would lose their minds if they knew I was celebrating my friend’s twenty-first birthday the American way. I told them I’d spend the night at a friend’s house.
I didn’t expect that I’d lose track of time, and when I finally decided to head to meet Noah, it was hours after we’d planned to meet. My parents don’t expect me back tonight.
Noah’s waiting for me. This is how we find time for each other.