Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
She let out a breath. “When I’m around her, I’m sixteen again. You know? That awkward girl you met a million years ago who thought choosing teal rubber bands for her braces was living life on the edge.”
“That awkward girl was the best.”
She gave him a grateful half smile. “That’s easy to say when you weren’t her.”
“I was awkward, too. But I’d already gotten really good at hiding it.”
She studied him with a slight indent between her brows, as if trying to read into the revealing statement. “For the record, my orthodontist implied clear rubber bands were a boring choice. I’m pretty sure he was a sadist.”
She’s so wonderful, my stomach is going to fall out. “I’m telling you, Mel. You looked great in teal.”
“My sixteen-year-old self is smiling down on us. With wax stuck between her teeth.” She bit her lip. “That was a solid Springsteen. A boss Boss, if you will.”
“I will.” It took an effort not to promise her the moon. “Any time you need it.”
“Mics on. We have to go, kids,” Danielle said, answering another call and speaking to someone on the other end while walking out of the apartment. She held the door for them and waited as they hooked their battery packs to the smalls of their backs, feeding the mics through their shirts and pressing the almighty button that would pick up their voices more clearly for the home audience. When Beat turned around, he saw that Joseph had been filming and wondered how much he—and everyone watching—had overheard. Did it even matter anymore? Hiding things from the camera only reminded him how privately he normally lived. Letting everyone close, but never close enough. Never revealing anything too deep or important.
With Melody’s hand tucked into his, Beat wondered for the first time if maybe he could learn to be a little more trusting. And what could be waiting for him on the other side.
Chapter Sixteen
On the flight to New Hampshire, Melody tried desperately to focus on her TED talk about insect brains being the key to great artificial intelligence, but every time five minutes lapsed, she realized she’d retained nothing.
Obviously she had the furthest thing from an insect brain.
Striving for casual, Melody turned in her wide, leather seat and glanced toward the rear of the plane to where Beat was thumbing through a neat bundle of paperwork, his brow in a furrow. He licked his index and middle fingers to turn the page, and a huge, industrial-sized crank turned below her belly button.
It seemed that every time she blinked, she would remember those long fingers tugging the band of her panties forward to look at her.
Goddamn, Peach. Are you on the pill just in case? Pulling out of that pussy is going to be torture.
In the heat of the moment, those words had made her hot. Brought her to the brink. In the light of day—or bad airplane cabin lighting, as it were—they only made her wonder. Made her think. Physically removing himself from her seemed to be a . . . theme? Or a need?
As if he’d heard her thoughts out loud, Beat’s attention snapped up and gripped her with enough intensity to power the airplane.
“Psst.” Danielle elbowed her in the ribs. “You’re staring.”
“Right.” Wetting her suddenly dry lips, Melody whipped back to a forward-facing position, keeping her eyes closed until her pulse slowed down. “I don’t suppose I could persuade you to distract me with the truth about you and Joseph, our trusty cameraman?”
“Distract you from what?”
“Air travel makes me anxious.”
“If you’re going to demand the truth out of me, you have to return the favor.”
“I guess I owe you one,” Melody grumbled. “For letting me know I was mooning over Beat on camera.”
“Whatever you tell me stays between us.” The producer crossed her legs and shifted to face Melody more fully. “The two of you are interesting enough in front of the lens. I don’t even have to stir the pot behind the scenes.”
“Is that standard practice on a reality show?”
Danielle considered spilling, then visibly changed her mind. “You’ll have to read about it in my memoir one day.”
Melody used a finger to click the air. “Preorder.” Danielle smiled, but remained silent, giving Melody an encouraging nod. “We kissed last night,” she whispered. “Made out, really.”
“Shock of the century.”
Just say it. Rip it off like a Band-Aid. “He sort of . . . walked away.”
Danielle did a double take. “I actually didn’t see that one coming. Elaborate?”
“No.” Melody shook her head adamantly. “Your turn.”
The producer definitely wanted to dive deeper into Melody’s explanation, slumping comically. “Joseph and I came up through the ranks together at a twenty-four-hour news network. We ran in the same circles, crossed paths, and always had that . . . flirty nemesis thing going on. Then around eight years ago, we were on a field assignment, covering a storm, and we were forced to spend the night in the news van. I’ll let you fill in the blanks.”