Sun-Kissed Summer by Marta Brown

Author:Marta Brown [Brown, Marta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: VP Publishing House
Published: 2015-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Oliver

“A pillow fort?” Katie squeals a few minutes later when I push open the front door to my apartment, revealing a colorful pile of blankets stacked high on the dining room table I dragged into the living room before I picked Katie up for dinner. Our old set up.

“So?” I kick off my shoes with a smirk. “Are you thoroughly swooned yet?”

Katie slips off her heels—looking relieved to finally be out of them—before rushing to the couch, pulling the cushions off, and tossing them on the floor. Her eyes twinkle like a little kid’s.

“Best. Date. Ever.”

“Perfetto,” I say, laughing at Katie as I snatch up one of the bed sheets and drape it between the couch and the dining room table.

And that’s exactly how the entire day has been. Perfect. Or pretty damn close—if you don’t count the fact that this is nothing but a practice date as far as Katie’s concerned.

To me? It feels as real as it’s ever going to be.

“Ollie, I’m not sure we’re going to fit,” Katie says, pulling me out of my head and back to the present as she lays the final sheet over the table.

As it covers nearly the entire living room, I take a quick peek inside and then glance back at her with a smile. “Maybe you won’t,” I tease like we’re twelve again, then duck under the top sheet and disappear.

“You think you’re so smart,” Katie says, beating me at my own game by crawling in from the opposite side and making herself comfortable before I even have a chance to stake a spot on the couch cushions now lining the floor. “It definitely seemed bigger when we were kids. Right?” Katie glances around our private little cocoon, the lights of the room dimmed by the mix and match of blankets hanging above us.

With my broad shoulders and long legs not quite fitting in the small space the way they used to, I shift onto my side and scrunch in next to her until, just like on the boardwalk, our bodies are flush with one another. Each of us lies on one side, looking at the other. Our faces just inches apart. “Yeah, but I guess a lot has changed since we were little,” I say barely above a whisper despite having the apartment to ourselves since both Mom and Megan are working.

Katie casts her eyes over the soft blue fabric she’s wearing. “Like the dress?”

“And the makeup.” I brush my hand against her cheek before tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

“And the muscles.” Katie smiles, giving my bicep a playful squeeze. “Those are definitely new.”

“Not that new,” I joke back as I flex under her palm and cause her to let out a small giggle.

“Okay, okay. Not that new,” she concedes before tucking one hand under her head while leaving the other hand resting on my arm. “But, yeah, things have changed.”

She looks up at me through her long, dark lashes. It makes my heart start to hammer as a beat of silence stretches out between us, our eyes roaming each other’s faces.

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