Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
His eyes dropped down to my lips, then back up to my eyes.
‘Try me,’ he said, after letting out a breath.
I dipped my body to the left. Just a little, so my shoulder could touch his chest. His eyes were burning into mine, and I couldn’t find it in me to look away. ‘I think you’re jealous,’ I whispered.
He inched just a little bit closer, to the point where I could feel his hot breath against my cheek.
‘Jealous?’
‘Yes,’ I replied simply.
His eyes dropped to my lips yet again. I lost my confidence and straightened from the desk, which put me another inch closer to William. His eyes found mine and he licked his lips. All of a sudden my heart went into a fast and frantic beat and my awareness of his closeness jolted through me.
‘You think I don’t want guys coming onto you?’
‘Elijah wasn’t coming onto me,’ I whispered.
He took a deep breath and let it out as I watched him in fascination. ‘Yeah?’ he asked quietly. ‘Tell me, Charlie. What do you think he was doing?’
‘Being nice and friendly.’
‘Yeah?’
I nodded. I was pretty sure he was being nice because I hadn’t felt anything different from him the whole night.
‘I’m not a jealous person. I’ve never been jealous of anyone before.’
‘You could’ve fooled me.’
‘Hmmm,’ he grunted, making my lips twitch. ‘You’re right,’ he admitted, much to my shock.
I tilted my head, studying him. ‘I’m right?’
‘You have honesty on your list, right? I’m following your example. It looks like I’m very jealous when it comes to you, Charlie. I was hoping it would go away, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere.’
I licked my lips, feeling a little overwhelmed by how close he was standing to me and how deeply he was staring into my eyes as if he were trying to see into my heart. ‘William…’ I started, but wasn’t sure exactly what to say.
‘Yes, Charlie,’ he said, his voice gruff and deep.
My heart thudding in my chest, I watched as he bent down and put his hand right next to mine, almost boxing me against the table. He raised his left hand and let his thumb stroke over my bottom lip. All at once, the world stopped moving and there was nothing – no one but William. I stopped breathing altogether.
He closed the gap between us and my heart slowed down as I felt his nose right between my ear and my neck. He took a deep breath. ‘How do you always smell so good?’ he whispered into my ear.
My eyes fluttered closed all on their own and instinctively I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access to do what… I had no idea.
He pulled back a little, but he was still standing too close to me. I managed to open my eyes and stare straight into his. His gaze touched every inch of my skin as we stood there in the quiet of the night.
‘Are you going to kiss me?’ I breathed out. A little hopeful and maybe a little scared. ‘Is it happening?’
His lips twitched, but he was still staring at my lips. ‘No.’
‘You’re going to break my heart,’ I said quietly, and his eyes came back to mine.
‘You’re the last person on earth I would hurt. You deserve the best, and I will…’
‘William? Are you in the kitchen?’
I blinked and William was gone. My body felt oddly cold. Three seconds later, his mom walked into the office.
‘Oh, here you are. You haven’t started yet. I’m not interrupting, am I?’
William cleared his throat, and still a little shellshocked I looked over my shoulder to see that he was busy setting up his laptop. ‘No, mom. But we’re about to start.’
I swallowed and turned to face Evelyn. I think I offered her a smile, but I wasn’t sure if it actually looked like a grimace.
‘Charlie, are you okay?’ she asked, her brows knitted.
‘Yes. Yes. Great. Thank you.’
‘You sure?’ Coming towards me, she touched my forehead with the back of her hand. ‘You look a little pale.’
‘I think it’s a little hot in here. Or maybe I’m just tired, that’s all.’
She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push it. ‘Don’t work her too hard, William. It’s not a work day, and she is a guest here. She should enjoy her time. Take her to the beach tomorrow to escape the madhouse. Okay?’
William sighed. ‘We’ll see tomorrow. But now we need to work.’
I watched as he reached for his mom who was much shorter than him and bent down to give her cheek a kiss.
Taking my eyes away from them – away from William – I sat my ass down on the chair and turned on my laptop, trying to focus on work and not on how hard my heart was thumping in my chest. It was going to be a long, long weekend.