AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What are we celebrating?” I ask.
“Does there have to be a reason?”
“Duh. We’re drinking champagne.”
“Stick with me, kid. We’ll drink champagne whenever you want.”
“Your impressions of famous people haven’t gotten any better. Good to know.”
He lifts his glass toward me. “Let’s toast to your new job.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “What if I didn’t get the job?”
He snorts. “Please. Winter Falls should be begging you to teach their youth.”
“They didn’t quite beg but Mrs. West did offer me the job.”
“I knew it! Congratulations, sweetness.” He presses his lips to mine in an all too brief kiss. I whimper as he pulls back.
“Gotta save some for later.” He winks before lifting his glass and tapping it against mine.
My eyes widen when I sip the champagne. “This is good.”
“Only the best for my Indy.”
His gray eyes are full of sincerity, warmth, and love. Hold on. Love? Cash doesn’t love me. He doesn’t know me. Not anymore.
You still love him,a voice whispers in my head.
Ugh. I wish I could tell my subconscious she’s full of rotten bologna. But she’s not. I never stopped loving Cash. Never stopped comparing every single man in my life to him. Never stopped yearning to be with him again.
But I’m not going to jump into this relationship with two feet. I’m not seventeen anymore. It was hard enough recoveringfrom Cash abandoning me eleven years ago. If I entwine my life with him and he leaves me again, I’ll spend the rest of my life recovering.
It’s best to proceed with caution.
I clear my throat. “What else do you have in the basket? I’m starving.” My stomach growls as if on cue.
He sets the picnic basket between us and opens it up. “Fried chicken, potato salad, and chocolate chip cookies.”
I grab the container of fried chicken and pry it open. “It smells delicious. Tell me you didn’t make this.” I hold up a drumstick.
He barks out a laugh. “I didn’t make the fried chicken.”
I raise an eyebrow. It’s important to be certain. The one and only time Cash cooked for me, back in the day, he prepared chicken wings. They were burnt to a crisp on the outside and raw on the inside.
He crosses a finger over his heart. “Honest.”
I tear a piece of meat off and pop it in my mouth. I groan as the crunchy coating and juicy meat hit my tongue.
“Tease,” Cash mutters as he adjusts himself.
“Don’t blame me. I’m over here eating my chicken and not bothering you.” I’m also a big fat liar who licks her lips and bats her eyelashes.
He growls. “It’s not the fried chicken and you know it.”
“I don’t know. You seemed to walk around with a problem in your pants all the time when we were teenagers.”
“Teenager hormones.”
