Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“After.”
Kate deepened her squint and glanced over at her brother, who completely avoided any eye contact.
She smirked. “Such a coincidence. He formed a committee, and now you’re dating.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. A big one, isn’t it?”
Kate and I laughed with an unspoken understanding that broke the ice. After that, we talked for almost an hour. Grant and Leo disappeared to go play some carnival games, and when he came back alone, Grant didn’t take a seat.
He looked at me. “You ready to get going?”
“Ummm… Sure.” I smiled at Kate and Jillian. “It was really nice getting to talk to you.”
“Let’s have lunch one day soon,” Kate said.
Grant rolled his eyes.
“I’d love that.”
“Want me to give Leo a ride home?” he asked Kate.
“No, I got him. You two go have a nice evening.”
We went to find Leo and told him we were leaving. In the parking lot, Grant took my hand, which gave me that warm feeling in my belly again.
“Where are you parked?” he asked.
I pointed. “All the way in the back. It was packed when I got here.”
He walked me to my car. Bringing our still-joined hands up to his lips, he kissed my knuckles. “Come back to my place for a drink?”
“Aren’t you sick of me yet? We spent the last two evenings together.”
Grant’s face fell. “No. Are you sick of me?”
I squeezed his hand. “I was teasing. Not at all. And I’d love to come back to your place. Did you mean the boat?”
He nodded.
I pushed up on my toes and pressed my lips to his in a soft kiss. “I’ll meet you there.”
The entire drive over, I felt an excited sort of nervous giddiness. I knew Grant had said he wasn’t sure how he’d be in a relationship, but he’d introduced me to his sisters and Leo, and I’d already met his grandfather. For someone who wasn’t sure about where he thought things could lead, it sure felt like we were taking steps in the right direction.
Still, Grant made me nervous; he had from the very start. Which was why I’d said I wanted to go slow. I knew in my head that was the right thing to do. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure my heart was listening.
Chapter 20
* * *
Ireland
“I was beginning to think you were going to stand me up,” Grant said from the back of the boat. He’d changed into shorts and a T-shirt, and his feet were bare. Something about him in bare feet just made me smile. It seemed very un-Grant-like.
I held up a white bakery box. “I have the worst craving for cheesecake. I had to get some. Wait. Do you like cheesecake? I’m not sure we can see each other if you don’t.”
He held out a hand for me to climb the stairs and board. “Cheesecake is good. Though I’m not a big dessert eater.” After I was on the boat, Grant kept my hand and used it to tug me to him. He wrapped his other hand around my neck and pulled my lips to meet his. “Unless you’re on the menu.”
My body reacted to the intimacy with a flush. His kiss literally knocked the wind out of me. When his lips moved to my neck, I dropped the cheesecake on the ground.
His voice was strained. “It’s not easy to move slow with you. You bring dessert, and all I can think about is smearing it all over your body and licking it off.”
Oh. My.
I’d just arrived, and already he had my panties wet.
Grant devoured my neck. I wasn’t even sure how I remained standing.
But then the sound of nearby voices made him groan and pull back. People had come outside on the boat next door. Grant dragged a hand through his hair. “Fuck. You better stay out here while I get some wine. Privacy might be dangerous for you.”
I bit my lip. “Or...I could help you inside.”
Grant’s green eyes darkened to almost gray. They raked down my body and back up again. “You sure about that?”
I swallowed and nodded.
Grant bent to pick up the cheesecake and smirked. “We’ll be needing this.”
It was only a few steps to get inside the cabin of Grant’s boat, but in the time it took to go from the stern to the door, all of my desire seemed to turn into nerves. Grant shut the door behind us, and the outside world went quiet.
I looked around and noticed the shades were drawn. I remembered he’d told me he had different shades. These were most definitely the blackout ones, though the lights were on inside.
Grant caught my eye. “I closed them before you got here because the late-afternoon sun heats up the inside, not because I was planning on luring you in here. I can open them if it makes you more comfortable. The view of the sunset is going to be nice soon anyway.”