Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“I’m not great with talking about my feelings, or my past.” His voice sounded thick as he admitted what she already knew.
Still, it might have been one of the most honest sentences he’d ever spoken to her, and she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him, a slow, deep kiss filled with gratitude and warmth. He responded instantly, slipping his tongue between her parted lips and exploring her mouth with what felt almost like desperation.
Her heartbeat quickened. She wondered if every kiss she shared with Caleb would be like this. The racing pulse, the damp palms, the melting of her body into his. He placed his hand on the back of her head and drew her closer, teasing her with his mouth, his lips, his tongue. The air in the kitchen felt charged, like the streak of arousal crackling through her blood.
“Marley?”
She and Caleb broke apart like a pair of teenagers caught necking in a parked car. She swiveled her head and saw her brother in the doorway.
“What the hell is going on here?” Sam asked, his gaze shifting from her to Caleb. “Who is he?”
Marley found her voice. “He is Caleb. My, um, neigh bor.”
Her brother strode to the middle of the room and eyed Caleb like a guard dog that had just discovered a burglar in the house. Too bad Sam was more like a cocker spaniel than a rottweiler. In his sky-blue surf shorts and white T-shirt, with his blond hair windswept as usual, her brother posed the least menacing picture Marley could conjure up.
“Do you always make out with your neighbors?” Sam demanded.
“Just the cute ones,” she replied.
Caleb snorted, then stuck out his hand. “I take it you’re Marley’s brother. It’s nice to meet you.”
Sam looked at Caleb’s outstretched hand warily, but the good manners their parents had instilled in them beat out his obvious desire to play the role of Angry Brother. He shook Caleb’s hand and said, “I’m Sam.” His eyes narrowed. “Why are you kissing my sister?”
Caleb looked so uncomfortable she took pity on him and said, “Because we’re seeing each other.”
Sam’s dark-blond eyebrows shot to his forehead. He glanced over at Marley. “Since when?”
“This week,” she admitted.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I don’t tell you everything.” Before Sam could continue the cross-examination, she said, “What are you doing here, anyway? Finally going to finish the hall closet?”
“Tomorrow. Dad’s barbecuing for lunch,” Sam said with a sigh. “He wants you to come.”
“He sent you all the way over here to invite me to lunch? You could have just called, you know.”
Sam shrugged. “I had to take measurements of the closet. I’m picking up some supplies before I come over tomorrow.” He shot her a pointed look. “I’m glad I came, otherwise I would have never known about your new boyfriend.”
Marley’s cheeks heated up. “When’s the barbecue?”
“In a couple of hours, but Dad wants you to come earlier. He has something to show you.”
Marley blanched. “Oh, God. Is it what I think it is?”
For the first time since he’d marched inside, Sam broke out a lopsided grin. “Sure is.”
Caleb shot her a quizzical look. “Do I get to be in the loop?”
She laughed. “Nope. Trust me, you have to see it to believe it.” To Sam, she said, “Can you call Dad and tell him to expect a guest?”
The suspicion on her brother’s face returned. “Sure, I guess.” Shoulders stiff, he turned for the door. “I’ll just take those measurements and meet you over at the house.”
After Sam left the kitchen, Marley gave Caleb an apologetic glance. “Sorry, I didn’t even think to ask you if you wanted to come along. I can tell them you can’t make it.”
He hesitated for a long time, but then to her surprise, asked, “Would you like me to go?”
She pondered the question. Would she? It might be awkward for him. Since Patrick’s arrest and escape, the men in Marley’s life had become super-protective. Sam, despite the fact that he was younger, now acted as if his only goal in life was to monitor and ensure her well-being, and their father wasn’t much better. Each time she saw him, her dad quizzed her about every aspect of her life.
She wasn’t sure how he would react when he met Caleb. Neither he nor Sam had liked Patrick, which only made her feel like a bigger fool. What had they seen that she hadn’t?
But Caleb was different. He wasn’t as smooth and polished as Patrick. Definitely not as talkative, either. And who knew, maybe her family would see something in him that she wasn’t picking up on. She still didn’t fully trust her instincts. It might not be a bad thing to gauge her family’s reaction to Caleb.
“I’d like it if you came,” she finally said.
He nodded. “All right then.”
She leaned up and planted a kiss against his cheek. “Thank you.”