Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
They continued to sway to the music, under the moonlight. This was by far the most romantic thing she’d ever done, and she was elated to experience it with Grayson.
Grayson moved closer, pressing his forehead against hers while maintaining eye contact, their height difference be damned. His thumb traced circles on her cheek soothingly as she swallowed hard, contemplating a decision that could change their lives forever. Butterflies fluttered wildly within her stomach. His lips were inches away from hers now, creating an electric tension between them that could only be broken by a kiss.
“I am here, where I belong and where I’ve wanted to be from the jump. You’re the only one who invades my thoughts, who my heart beats for,” he continued quietly with a slight smirk playing on his lips as he glanced down at her mouth for a brief moment before meeting her gaze again. “Because I’m willing to risk everything for the possibility of having something real with you. If you’re willing to do the same. We can take it as slow as you want. Just knowing you want to try is enough for me right now.”
Reid’s heart pounded so hard against her chest that it mirrored the rhythm of the jazz music coming from the club. Fast and intense. Overwhelmed with emotion, she leaned into him, closing the gap between their bodies and hearts.
She looked up at him one more time before whispering in a tender tone, “I’m willing to take that risk with you too.” A small smile played on Grayson’s lips as he tilted his head slightly.
Their lips met in a sweet kiss under the moonlit sky. Their first date was the start of something beautiful and terrifying. Reid had everything to lose if Grayson changed his mind, and everything to gain if he didn’t. Without a doubt in her mind, body and soul, he was the man for her.
FIFTEEN
NADIA
Summer slowly faded away. Lorraine and Sienna had returned to their lives. As had Reuben. Cleo and Otto had kept their distance, which bothered Nadia. They still had two other grandchildren, and she needed their help. Warren came to visit every other weekend, taking the train from DC to Boston. His visits were short and mostly came from a need to make sure the house didn’t require repairs and the lawn stayed mowed. Everything in Nadia’s life continued to evolve and change, but none of it was for the better. People who’d cared and expressed grief over Rafe’s passing, or brought food for them in the days after, no longer called or stopped by. They had all forgotten, while Nadia and the girls continued to live with the crippling grief.
When Nadia returned to her classroom for the first time since Rafe’s passing, it wasn’t the same. The substitute had taken down all Nadia’s decorations, boxed up the pictures of her girls and Rafe, and made her classroom unwelcoming. The wall dedicated to the American Revolution and the history of Boston was blank, the bookshelves bare. The books had been piled in stacks, in a disorderly fashion. She felt out of place, like she didn’t belong in the room that had been hers for years, and she definitely didn’t want to be there. Not yet at least. She spent most of the first week putting things back where she wanted them. A task that should’ve taken her hours took her five days. Nothing was as it was, and she couldn’t make it the same, no matter how hard she tried.
It was just like her life.
By the time staff meetings rolled around, she had found some kind of groove. It wasn’t the one she was used to, though. Gone was bubbly Nadia who loved life. In her place was a sad, sullen woman who had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and found every excuse to stay home.
Nadia dreaded the first day of school, a day she used to look forward to. She used to love meeting new faces and seeing returning students who took her advanced class. Teaching history was her thing, and she’d thought living in a place that had done everything to preserve it was something people should embrace. The annual field trip they took, walking the Freedom Trail, had always been a highlight of her year. So had been stopping at Boston Common to ride the carousel, weaving their way through history, knowing that the men and women who’d forged our country had battled in the same spots they walked; then they’d eat lunch at Quincy Market. Their field trips led them to Marshall Street, where they would visit the Green Dragon Tavern, which dated back to 1654. It was where Paul Revere penned his memoirs about his clandestine meetings with Samuel Adams, John Adams, and others. It was where they sat and eavesdropped on British troops who openly discussed war plans.