Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Halfway down, I see him. He stands there wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt. His eyes watch the escalator, and I see them light up as soon as he sees me. My eyes lock on his, and when I finally make it to the bottom, I walk to him and see that he has flowers in his hand.
“Welcome, my sweet Zara,” he says, holding the flowers out for me. I reach out and grab them, and he walks closer to me, so close I can smell him finally. I look up at him and wait for him to finally kiss me. My heart beating, my palms sweaty, my stomach making that little flip as the butterflies fly around. I look down at the flowers in my hand and then look up at him, and he comes close and kisses me softly on the cheek. “Beautiful, sweet Zara,” he whispers, and my heart sinks.
Chapter Fourteen
Evan
I dump my bag at the door, and I don’t even bother turning on the lights as I put the dogs out and wait for them, shrugging off my jacket and beanie. The dogs come back to the door scratching, and I let them in and close up the house.
I undress, leaving my clothes in a puddle at the end of my bed, and I literally moan when I slip between the sheets and sink my head on the pillow. Looking over at the clock, I see it’s almost four a.m.
For another night, I go to bed with Zara on my mind. I go to bed asking myself if she is going to come to casino night. I go to bed actually missing her. This week with me traveling and her working on the West Coast has been a mess trying to connect, and I was beyond frustrated. I set my alarm to wake me at ten to call her and see what she is doing! Tomorrow I’m going to get the courage and the balls to ask her if she is coming.
When her face fills the screen, it always takes my breath away. Always. When she told me her flight was soon, I finally asked her the question I’ve wanted to ask her all week, yet didn’t because I didn’t want her to think I was pressuring her. When she told me she was coming to Dallas and landing at four, I about lost my shit. I was so excited. I got out of bed right away and started making all the plans.
I went into the guest bedroom and made sure everything was okay for her. Even though I wasn’t sure if she was staying here, I wanted it to be perfect. The last person to stay in this room was my mother two months ago. The big king-size bed sits in the middle of the room with a beige headboard. The white duvet fluffed up with six pillows all lined up in two rows. The beige throw blanket at the end of the bed half rests on bench in front of the bed.
The bed sits in front of the two windows that show the front of the lawn. I walk into the en suite bathroom and make sure there are clean towels. I’m so nervous.
“Lilo, Stitch.” I call for them at three thirty when I’m just about to leave to go and get her. My heart hammers in my chest. “I’m going to pick up a friend,” I tell them, and they both sit in front of me with their tails wagging. “Wish me luck,” I tell them, grabbing the bouquet of roses I picked up earlier.
I get in the car and make it there in record time. As I walk into the baggage area, my palms are almost dripping with sweat from my anxiousness. My heart beats so irrationally and fast, I’m surprised I’m not having a heart attack. I walk to the screen and see that her plane has just landed. I didn’t text her to tell her I was picking her up. I didn’t text her anything. I look around the baggage claim area and see maybe seven people lingering.
Standing in front of the escalator, I wait anxiously for her. My leg starts to shake as I watch for any signs of her. My finger taps the stems of the roses I hold by my side. I spot her shoes before anything else, and slowly, like I’m unwrapping a beautiful gift wrapped present, she finally comes down. Her hair flows down loose, and I want nothing more than to bury my hands in it. I wonder if it feels as silky as it looks? I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. I can’t help the beating in my chest, and I can’t help that my mouth is dry.
Our eyes lock, and no one else exists. The room could be on fire, and I would only have eyes for her. I walk slowly to the escalator, my eyes never leaving hers. When she finally walks off it and is in front of me, my heart that was pounding just a second ago is now beating perfectly. I hold out my hand with the long stem roses in them, and her eyes finally see them.