Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Me: The girls are feeling very nosy today, so expect some grilling when you get here.
Aaron: Ha! I’m not worried. All kids love me.
He’s not lying. An hour later, we’re watching Moana, and the twins are laughing their butts off while Aaron stands in front of the TV and belts out the entire number that The Rock sings in the movie. He knows every word, and when I demand an explanation afterward, he offers a sheepish smile and says, “My older sister has a four-year-old daughter. We watch a lot of movies together.”
Halfway through the film, the girls declare they’re bored and would rather play a game, so Mo brings out a ridiculous card game that Roxy tries valiantly to explain. It involves monsters and severed body parts and requires us to fight each other in weird card battles. I don’t understand what the hell is going on, but Aaron picks it up fast, and the next thing I know he and Roxy are competing in a fierce monster battle rife with dark glares and very bad trash talk.
“Oh, you’re going down,” he warns my sister.
“Nuh-uh. You are.”
“No, you are.”
“No, YOU ARE!” Roxy sticks her tongue out at him.
Aaron sticks his tongue out right back at her.
I stare at him. “I’m dating a six-year-old.”
“Dating, huh?” His eyes sparkle.
Smiling, I arch a brow. “I mean, yeah, isn’t this a date?”
“Ewwww!” Monique cries.
“Cassie has a boyfriend!” Roxy yells.
I roll my eyes. “You guys are SO immature,” I say haughtily, and Aaron snickers.
Eventually, I check the time and notice it’s almost eight thirty, so I encourage everyone to wrap up the game. Roxy wins, but I think Aaron lets her, which is another check in his plus column. Not batting an eye about our change of date venue is another one. He really is a decent guy.
“You okay staying down here while I put them to bed?” I ask him.
He’s already reaching for the TV remote. “I’m good,” he assures me. “Preseason game is on. Gotta see how the Bills are looking so far.”
I keep forgetting he’s from New York. Not that far from Boston, a little voice in my head points out.
I suppose that’s super convenient. If we keep dating, that is. Right now, though, while I’m having fun with him, it still feels very platonic. Our initial spark doesn’t seem to be catching fire. I don’t feel a sense of eagerness to kiss him, but I’m not sure if the lack of heat and passion is because of what happened last time we kissed, or if it’s simply just not there with us.
I know I’m capable of feeling it. I felt it last night. I’m sure some of that had to do with the alcohol we’d consumed, but most of it had to do with Tate.
Upstairs, I tuck the girls in and switch on the little lamp atop the night table between their beds. When I turn off the main light, the lamp casts a yellow glow over the room and projects glowing mermaids on the walls. It’s the coolest thing. I wish I’d had one of those growing up.
I drag a white-painted rocking chair closer to their beds. It’s a remnant from when they were babies, and I suddenly have a memory of Nia sitting in this chair, rocking my tiny infant sisters to sleep.
“Okay,” I say cheerfully. “Are we ready to find out what happens when McKenna’s older brother finds Kit hiding in the garage?”
* * *
“Thanks for waiting.” I come downstairs about thirty minutes later. Aaron’s made himself comfortable in the living room. Feet up on the coffee table, leaning back against the couch cushions with one arm propped behind his head.
He looks kind of sexy in that position …
This is promising.
When his head turns toward the doorway and his eyes smolder at the sight of me, I feel a fluttering between my legs.
Promising, indeed.
“The girls asleep?” he asks.
I settle beside him on the couch. “Roxy’s out like a light, but Mo will take a bit longer. She was drifting off when I left, though.”
“They’re cool kids. Half sisters, right?”
“Yeah. Their mom is Dad’s second wife. Nia.”
“And you don’t have any other siblings?”
“Nope. I was an only child until I was fifteen, and then the twins came along.”
We talk about families for a while, but I have to admit I’m not paying too much attention to what we’re saying. Aaron’s arm is around me now, and his fingertips are brushing my bare shoulder. Stroking lightly. It feels nice. I’m pleasantly surprised to find heat gathering in my belly. My heart beating faster. Okay, I can work with this.
“Cassie.”
I look over to see him peering at me through heavy-lidded eyes.
“Yeah?” I swallow.
“I really want to kiss you.”
I swallow again. “Good. So kiss me.”
For all of Tate’s advice about how to ward off the “aggressive entry,” it happens so fast I barely have a chance to blink, let alone touch his face and compliment him. The speed with which his lips latch onto mine and his tongue is thrusting inside is almost remarkable. He’s perfected the art of persistent passion with zero buildup. In fact, I’ve never met anyone who’s this skilled at kissing this bad. Once again, I’m caught in the same predicament, a helpless participant in a kiss that makes my head spin, and not in a good way.