TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER
I paced my living room, circling the coffee table and my cell phone lying there. Taunting me.
Are you seriously this pathetic?
I’d lied to Theo in my text. My date hadn’t been terrible.
Matthew Porter was sweet, considerate, and easy on the eyes.
He didn’t chew with his mouth open, he was polite to the waiter, our conversation flowed back and forth.
He was a perfect gentleman at the end of the night, kissing me on the cheek and asking if he could see me again.
I said no because the only thing I could think of when Matthew leaned in to kiss me was that I wished it had been someone else.
The phone rang.
My someone else…
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“So you had a date tonight?” I blurted. Oh, very smooth.
“Yeah, I did. It sucked.”
A smile burst over my face. “That’s too bad.”
“And your date was shitty too?”
“Yes, he was.” I frowned. “Well. No. He wasn’t that bad actually, but…”
“What?”
He wasn’t you.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I didn’t feel a connection, I guess.”
“Was he a good kisser?”
“I didn’t kiss him,” I said, wondering why a ball of warmth bloomed low in my belly at Theo’s tone. It sounded like jealousy. “He tried, but I turned the other cheek.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. What about you? Did you get any action?” I asked, bracing myself for the answer.
“No kiss,” he said. “No connection.”
I eased a breath as quietly as I could. “Bummer. We both struck out.”
“Kace?”
“Yes?”
“What are you doing this week?”
“Finishing reno on the house. Waiting for final edit of the video. You?”
“I was thinking I’d fly out to visit you.”
I dropped onto the couch, my heart pounding ridiculously hard. “You are? I mean, you would? Why?”
“No reason,” he said slowly. “Except I want to.”
“You can take off work? And school?”
“I actually have one whole vacation day accrued. How about I get there Friday, leave Sunday?”
“I’ll take it. Oh my God, I’m so happy. I mean, I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“We say that a lot, don’t we?”
A silence fell, filled with unspoken words. I twirled my hair so tightly, the tip of my finger lost circulation.
“Kace?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll kiss you goodnight.”
A warm-water heat swept through my entire body. His voice… God, his voice. Deep and gruff and sexy as hell. I’ll kiss you…
I wanted him to say it again.
“Okay.” I laid down, stretched out on the couch. “Tell me when.”
“Shhh. I’m touching your cheek now.”
I raised my hand to my cheek. “Feels nice.”
“Close your eyes.”
“I did,” I whispered.
“Open your mouth, just a little…”
I sucked in a breath. With my eyes shut, the power of his words was amplified. Every nerve ending stretched out to listen. To translate sound into touch.
“I’m going to kiss you goodnight now.”
“On the lips?”
A pause. “Yeah.”
I gripped the phone tighter. “Okay.”
“Goodnight, Kacey,” he said softly.
I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, but in the dark—with Theo’s deep voice like a purr in my ear—it was his mouth I felt and his lips that brushed mine softly.
A sigh eased out of me, leaving me heavy and content.
“Did you feel it?” he asked.
I nodded against the phone, snuggling into couch cushions. “I felt it. So nice. Made me sleepy.”
“It did?”
“Mmhm. I feel warm all over. And safe. How did you do that from so far away?”
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “Get some sleep now.”
“I will. Goodnight, Teddy.”
I usually hung up then, but I hesitated. I heard his intake of breath, like he was about to say more.
“Teddy?”
“Nothing. Just… I'll see you soon.”