The publishers were taking me seriously. Angelica had hinted that I should expect a spot on the New York Times bestseller list this time, which meant some real money had been poured into this release.
… which also meant that I was under pressure to make Kieran and I lookgood. We really needed to sell this to pull it off.
Just as I was about to respond, I noticed Kieran had texted me, too.
Hoursago.
My stomach sank at leaving the response so long, but he’d understand, right?
If it was me, I would’ve been relieved as soon as I heard back.
Kieran: Morning
Kieran: Wanna go for coffee later?
I’d never wanted anything in mylifemore than to go for coffee later.
Sorry, just woke up. Definitely need coffee.
Kieran was probably busy now—teaching a yoga class or showering after one or maybe helping a little old lady cross the street, since that seemed like the kind of thing he did when he wasn’t doing something else equally attractive.
He was still as sweet as I remembered him. Still the same warm smile that turned shy sometimes and made my stomach flip over. Still the same laugh that I could feel in my own chest.
Muchhotter, though, on account of not being an awkward teenager anymore.
My insides squirmed as I remembered the way he’d kissed me, all aching tenderness at first, so careful, so unsure. But then as soon as he’d gotten overthat, it’d been all heat and need and want.
A thrill of sheer, undiluted lust rolled down my spine and pooled in the pit of my stomach, hot and tight.
I was going to be thinking about that all day.
Curious, I made my way back to Kieran’s Instagram feed and kept scrolling, smiling at his photos of pastries and dogs and flowers he liked, and then stopping dead as I came to one photo in particular.
I tapped it to bring up the full image, another shiver of heat washing over me.
In some ways it was so perfectly innocent—just Kieran’s face, a black-and-white filter washing out a lot of the detail I was just starting to re-map. But he was biting the tip of his thumb, staring directly into the camera, looking out from the screen like he’d just seen the most incredible thing in the world.
A shudder ran through me, and I forced myself to snap out of it. Kieran was supposed to beexperimentingwith me. Which meant I had to be safe.
Not desperate.
My phone vibrated all of a sudden, and I almost dropped it in surprise.
Kieran: around noon?
Clearly, I was forgiven for the slow response.
Perfect
* * *
I sentoff a quick text to Kieran to let him know I’d arrived early once I settled at the coffee shop in town, then grabbed my laptop out of my bag and got to work.
Progress was still ridiculously fast. I’d written another thousand words before leaving like it was nothing at all, and the moment my fingers hit the keys, words just…flowed.
Kieran had no idea what I owed him. The weight he’d lifted off my shoulders was immense. I’dneverwritten anything this quickly.
Lost in my own little world and surrounded by the cozy, comfy booth I’d snagged, the familiar scent of coffee and sugary pastries, and the low hum of the rest of the crowd, it took me a handful of seconds to realize someone was standing at my elbow.
