Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“What do you want, Parker?” she asks, calling me by my last name, like the guys at work do. She’s never done it before, and if I had to guess, it’s her veiled attempt at keeping me at a distance.
“I’m bored.” I shrug and walk over to where she’s working and have a seat across from her. “Whatcha working on?”
“My pitch.”
When she doesn’t elaborate, I laugh. “You wanna share with the class?”
“Why? So you can undermine it—or better yet, try to steal it?”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “I’ll share my idea with you.”
“Go for it.” She sits back and crosses her arms over her chest, plumping her perky tits up.
Not wanting to look like a perv for staring, I focus on her face when I say, “He’s a musician, so I think we should host a party in Vegas.”
“Of course you do,” she scoffs.
“In case you forgot, his next club opening is there. We could sponsor the event and have him feature his drink and our liquor. Similar to what the sporting venues we partner with do.”
I wait for her to talk more shit, but instead, she stares at me thoughtfully before she says, “Actually … that’s a good idea, and it goes along with my idea.”
“I’m sorry.” I chuckle. “Did you just say I had a good idea?”
“Don’t be annoying.” She turns her laptop around so we can both see her screen. “I was thinking we could partner with one of the rideshare companies to promote drinking responsibly and have Ronan be the face of the campaign. He could promote his drink along with the campaign. We could call it something like RideSafe, and Kingston would sponsor it by providing discounted rides for people who shouldn’t be driving.”
“And we could kick it off at the party in Vegas,” I add, the details all coming together in my head. “Not only would it endorse Ronan’s partnership with Kingston, but it would also be a great way to promote Kingston’s stance on drinking responsibly.”
“Exactly.” Ana smiles. “Two birds, one stone.”
“Hell yeah. Let’s do it.”
For the next several hours, we work together to sort out all the details until Ana’s stomach rumbles, reminding us that we haven’t eaten.
“You don’t have to cook,” she says.
“Nah, I don’t mind. But since it’s nice out, why don’t we grill out on the patio and eat outside?”
“That sounds lovely.”
Her phone goes off, and she glances at it. Since I’m sitting next to her, I see it’s a text from her dad, asking if we’re available to do Sunday brunch tomorrow morning.
“I’m down,” I tell her without her having to ask.
She texts her dad back and then looks up at me. Our faces are so close that all it would take is us leaning in slightly and our mouths would touch.
Ana licks her lips, her eyes landing on mine, and I slowly release a breath, wondering if I should make a move. It’s crazy since we’ve kissed before, but so much has happened since then. When she sucks in her bottom lip and glances up at me through her lashes, I take that as my sign.
Sliding my arm around the back of the couch we decided to work on earlier, I lean in, my eyes not leaving hers while I give her a chance to push me away or tell me no.
When she does neither, I bridge the rest of the gap between us and press my lips to hers. They feel exactly how I remember—soft and supple—and when she parts them on a sigh, giving me permission to deepen the kiss by sliding my tongue into her mouth, she tastes just as sweet as she did the last time I kissed her.
Unlike our previous kisses that were motivated by our chemistry and passion, this one is slower, gentler. Neither of us is in a rush to take things any further. As we get lost in the kiss, our tongues caressing each other, it’s like time has stopped, the world has momentarily disappeared, and all that’s left is Ana and me and the way our lips curl so damn perfectly around one another.
And not for the first time, my mind wanders to thoughts of a future with this woman, and unlike with any other woman I’ve been with, I can see it. Working together to bring Kingston to the next level. Evenings spent talking business over dinner, which lead to heated nights in bed. Sunday brunches, weekends away, introducing her to my family …
But my thoughts don’t stop there. Instead, they continue further—to her wearing my ring and taking my name, turning this house into a home as we fill it with little versions of us …
Her stomach growls loudly, ending the moment, and we pull back, both of us slightly out of breath.
“Let’s get you fed,” I tell her, backing up so I can meet her eyes.