When It's Right (9 page)

Something hard underlay the casual affect to his voice. Her own smile faded, becoming something softer and oh-so tender as she lowered her hands. Her fingers itched inside her gloves to touch him.

“What can I say?”
That I love you. That I’ve always loved you.
The words she wanted to speak refused to come, and she found herself adopting his teasing tone, but it didn’t sound right on her tongue. She glanced up at the awning above them to hide her eyes. “A reliable source told me this place was worth checking out.”

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Emotion leaked around the edges of his words, drawing Cassie’s gaze back to his mouth. His bottom lip crumpled before evening out. “All I know is that it has a beautiful name.”

Just like that, any pretense that things were normal between them faded away. They were standing outside, in the cold and brilliant night, on the cusp of so much more than just a new year, but they could just as well have still been in that darkened subway station, confessions lying bare and naked between them.

As she had so many times before, she picked up their conversation right where they’d left off. “Nate…” She stepped away from the wall, her heart thrumming with everything she was about to expose. “I know everything you told me back there, about how you’re not good at this. And I think you’re right.”

His whole posture seemed to lock down, hurt dancing, just barely concealed, around the edges of his eyes. Like he was bracing himself for rejection, and her chest ached for him and for herself, for the words she had to bring to bear. She shook her head before he could deflect, before he could say anything.

He’d put himself out there. She could do it, too.

“I don’t…” she started, hesitating before beginning again. “I don’t want you to go through the motions with me. Or settle for good enough, or even date me just because you still want to be friends. I thought I could stop being friends with you. I thought I’d have to…”

The words were spinning beyond her control, nothing coming out right, and it was almost a relief when he broke in.

“You wanted to stop being friends with me?”

God, his voice sounded wrecked.

“I thought it was the only way.” She reached out for his hands, felt their warmth even through the layers of their gloves. Her eyes were stinging again, the edges of her mouth trembling with the force of the smile that was threatening to break down. “How else was I supposed to get over you?”

All at once, everything seemed to get very quiet. Like there was no one else in the entire world.

“Cassie…”

She squeezed his fingers tighter. “From the very first moment I saw you, I wanted you.” Her confessions were pouring out of her now, and the whole world seemed weightless. Like she was free. “And I have loved you. I’ve loved you for so long.” And it was too much, too much to lay herself out like this while he was staring at her, gaping. Doubt churned. She started to backtrack before she could stop herself. “If you don’t want… I mean, I’ll understand if—”

“Cass.” He was smiling, and he stepped in even closer, until there was barely any space between their bodies, his breath washing over her face, so warm against the cold. His eyes danced, and his hands disentangled from hers to settle on her hips. “I love you, too. I’ve always loved you.” The one side of his mouth relaxed, leaving his grin crooked and open. “I just didn’t know how until now.”

His gaze flitted down to her lips, and she tilted her chin up, her whole body going soft in anticipation. It wouldn’t be their first kiss, but there was no mistaking this time what it meant. He wanted her, exactly the way she wanted him. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode.

Only the kiss didn’t come.

She opened her eyes, surprised to find they had closed. The sound of the crowd around them rushed back in, and her gaze darted to the screen on the side of the building opposite them as voices rang out as one.

“Ten…”

“Cassie?”

Nate was looking down at her, his smile wider now, humor dancing in his eyes.

“Nine…”

She blinked in confusion. “Yes?”

“You never answered my question from before.”

The countdown continued around them as she scrambled to remember what he’d asked.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Can I kiss you at midnight?”

Oh.
Oh.

She curled her hand around the back of his neck, feeling breathless and flushed and ready. So ready. She licked her lips, but at the last second decided to be coy. “Guess you’re just going to have to try it and see.”

In the back of his throat, he growled.

“Three…two…one…”

The “one” had barely stopped resounding across the square before his lips were on hers, the warm press of them soft and full and
right
. She gave herself over to it in a way she never had before, taking and giving, opening to taste the sweep of his tongue. His cold nose bumped hers, his smile too tight to kiss past, and then they were staring at each other, lips just a hairsbreadth apart.

“Happy New Year, Cassie.”

“Happy New Year, Nate.”

She pulled him back down to her for another wet kiss.

Happy didn’t begin to describe it. She had a feeling it was going to be their best year yet.

About the Author

After brief, unsatisfying careers in advertising, teaching, computers and homemaking, Jeanette Grey has returned to her two first loves: romance and writing. Nothing makes her happier than creating new characters and exploring the emotional and physical connections between them.

When she isn't writing, Jeanette enjoys making pottery, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and her pet frog. She lives, loves, and writes in upstate New York.

You can find Jeanette online at
www.jeanettegrey.com
, on Twitter at
@jeanettelgrey
,
or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/jeanettelgrey
. She is also a regular blogger at
www.badgirlzwrite.com
.

Look for these titles by Jeanette Grey

Now Available:

Unacceptable Risk

She needs an escape…and he’s exactly what she had in mind.

Take What You Want

© 2013 Jeanette Grey

College senior Ellen Price spends every spare minute studying to get into medical school. Until spring break yawns before her, as empty as her wallet.

With no money to hit the beach, she fills her empty to-do list with a plan: for just one week, she will become the kind of take-no-prisoners woman she secretly wishes to be, starting with the hot guy at the bar. It's a no-risk situation: at the end of break, he’ll head back to his campus, and she’ll go back to hers. No muss, no fuss.

At first, Josh Markley isn’t sure what to think when the quiet, intense beauty from his pre-med classes approaches him for a night of casual sex. Even more mystifying, she doesn’t seem to return his recognition. But if she wants to play “strangers in a bar”, he’s game.

Their passionate night is a welcome respite from life’s stress, but afterward, Josh realizes he wants more—from himself, from life, from Ellen. Except she still thinks he’s a one-off she’ll never see again. Confessing the truth now—before she figures it out on her own—could shatter the fragile beginnings of just what the doctor ordered. A forever love.

Warning: Contains mistaken identities, a sometimes-glasses-wearing hottie, deep questions about figuring out what you want from life, and a red-hot college romance.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Take What You Want:

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, kissing his way toward her ear.

She hummed and touched his chest, tilting her neck and giving him more of herself to kiss. “You look nice, too.”

“Thanks.” He pressed his lips once more over her pulse point, then stood up straight and slid his hand to the small of her back. “After you.”

He held his breath as they made their way toward his car. She let him hold the door for her and glanced up at him as she folded herself into the seat. Her skirt rose up on her thighs, and from this angle, he could see down her shirt.

He closed the door and took the long way around to his side of the car, forcing a few long, hard breaths before climbing in beside her. The instant they were closed inside that space together, all his efforts at calming himself were for naught. He’d been inside her twice, but sitting there like that, going out like normal people, felt like another thing entirely. He glanced over at her, only to find her gazing at him, her expression easy and sure. And she looked so beautiful.

Out of nowhere, he said, “Thank you.”

Her laughter rang out like bells. “For what?”

“For agreeing to go out with me.”

She reached over and put her hand on his knee. “Thanks for asking.”

“Right.” He couldn’t help grinning. He’d asked, and she’d said yes. “Right.”

With that, he turned the key in the ignition and positioned both hands securely on the wheel.

It was a quiet ride over to the restaurant. At some point, she asked where they were going, and he grinned, kept his eyes on the road and told her she’d find out soon enough. It wasn’t as if he was really keeping her guessing. In a little college town, there weren’t all that many options, and when they pulled up in front of his favorite Italian place, there was a smug tilt to her mouth.

“You’re okay with Italian?”

“Love it.”

He got out and went around to her side of the car. He wasn’t in time to get her door for her, but he could at least take her hand as she stepped out. The whole walk across the parking lot, he didn’t let it go.

Inside, the usually bustling restaurant was unusually slow, just like everything else was when classes weren’t in session, and before long, they were seated across from each other in a quiet booth in the back. As he perused the menu, Josh kept darting his gaze over to Ellen to take in her face. She read with her full attention, and in spite of the make-up and the styled hair, she looked so much like the girl from the other side of the lecture hall that it made his chest tight. Finally, she put down her menu and smiled at him.

“Figure out what you want?”

She nodded, licking her lips and gazing at him. “I think so.”

“Good.” He stared right back, as caught up as ever in her.

The sound of a throat clearing broke the moment. Josh looked up to find a waiter hovering, his expression clearly questioning whether he should stay or go. Josh folded his menu up and nodded. Once they’d placed their orders, the waiter retreated just as quickly as he’d come, and Josh was left alone with Ellen.

For a minute, all he could do was stare.

She was the first to glance away. “So…” she said.

“So.”

“This is us. On a date.”

“That it is.” Just the thought made him smile. He reached across the table and held his hands out, silently asking. She hesitated, gaze down, but then placed her palms in his. “I really am glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.” Only her eyes still weren’t meeting his.

“Hey.” He squeezed her fingers. “Look at me?”

Her gaze rose, her shoulders straightening.

He drew in a deep breath and rubbed her knuckles. “I asked you out because I want to get to know you. This weekend…” His voice trailed off as flashes of heat slid over his skin.

Fortunately, she finished his sentence for him. “Was amazing.”

“So amazing.” He lifted their joined hands and leaned forward to press one soft kiss to the back of each. “And I just…I want to know you.”

She flinched but didn’t shut down. “I already told you. There’s not much to tell.”

“And I already told you, I don’t believe you.”

Her gaze followed their hands as he lowered them down to the table. Her voice low and just a little distant, she asked, “When do classes start up again for you?”

Right. Because she still thought he would be leaving soon.

“Monday,” he answered honestly. “But my dad and I are leaving Saturday for this…camping thing.”

“So you’re leaving in four days.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. “Yes.”

“We met on Saturday and you’re leaving on Saturday. A week and a day. And you want to get to know me?” Her voice was disaffected, but there was something wavering to it, too. “Is it even worth it?”

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate, didn’t give an inch. With his eyes, he tried to tell her what he didn’t have words yet to say. “To me, it is. The question is, will you let me?”

She didn’t answer, just withdrew her hands and looked away at the TV in the corner. Everything about her posture was affected nonchalance, but there was tension in there, too. The downward tug at the corner of her mouth and the tapping of her nail against her lip. And it was…horrible. Awkward and awful and…

Silently cursing at himself, he balled up his napkin in his fist. He’d had to press. He’d just had to.