Page 87 of The Sound of Harmony

Kendrick touched his chin. “A little stubble to tickle you with?”

Emma licked her lips. “I like a bit of whisker.”

Kendrick leaned into the camera. “You don’t think I should try on the suit? Just for comparison?”

“I think you should wear a tuxedo every day,” Emma said. “To the drugstore, mowing the lawn…you should never take it off.”

“I could though,” he said, his voice low and seductive. “And you could take off your clothes too, and we could let whatever happens…happen.”

“Tempting,” Emma said.

“It could be fun.” Kendrick’s hand brushed the lapel of his jacket again, and then moved lower.

“You’re obviously very self-assured,” Emma said. “And dressed like that, who wouldn’t be? But I’m not feeling that confident.”

“With a body like yours?” Kendrick asked. “You have an elegantly long neck, and breasts that fit perfectly into my cupped hands. Your legs go on forever and I could spend hours running my fingers over the curve of your hip. That sweet spot where the back of your legs meets your ass is so—”

“I get it,” Emma said. “You like my body.”

“I like your everything,” he said. “But since we’re talking about your body, yes, I like it. And I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

Emma bit her lip and looked away from the camera, her expression wary.

“We’ve done it before.”

“Without the cameras on,” Emma pointed out. “We don’t know who’s watching. These apps are far from secure.”

Kendrick stopped touching himself. “That’s true and practical and I don’t like it.”

“Same,” Emma said.

They heaved a collective sigh at the unfairness of life keeping them apart.

“I think you should save all that energy for the concert tomorrow,” Emma said. “And once we’re both back in Cannondale, we’ll get naked together.”

“Promise?”

She pointed a playful finger at him. “You walk in the door wearing that, and I will immediately want you out of it.”

“I love—” Kendrick stopped himself from blurting out the truth. It was too soon. He wasn’t ready. The concert was tomorrow. “I love when you say stuff like that,” he amended. “And I love when you undress me.”

Emma’s breath hitched in her throat. “I wish you weren’t out of town.”

“I’ll be home tomorrow.” He nodded vigorously, exaggerating it, as if he was trying to convince her, or himself.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll talk then.”

“If I have my way, we won’t have time for words.”