The Book Critic's Bodyguard by Michele Ciuzwo

Author:Michele Ciuzwo [Ciuzwo, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Row Shell Publishing
Published: 2018-10-10T18:00:00+00:00

13

“Chris?” A gentle nudge and Kate’s quiet voice were all it took to pull Chris from his doze instantly. Years of being forced to sleep in potentially hostile environments had conditioned him to wake quickly.

“Are you okay?” He turned to look at Kate’s face, veiled faintly by the soft pink light of dawn. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s the matter,” Kate answered him. She rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. “I’m awake. I’m all sobered up. And I still want this.”

Chris didn’t need to hear it twice. In a flash, he had rolled on top of her and was kissing her with urgency, making her body react and her pulse race.

After that, time seemed to stop.

***

The sun was shining brightly when Kate slipped out of the bedroom. After enthusiastic and intense lovemaking, Chris had fallen into a light sleep, his lithe body tangled in Kate’s white sheets. Moving slowly to keep the creaking of the hinges to a minimum, Kate eased open her closet door and grabbed the robe hanging on the inside. Before she closed it again, she caught a glimpse of the garment bag in the back. She had moved it yet again, this time from the hallway closet back to the bedroom.

The panic Kate had felt when Chris had seen it compelled her to hide it away, someplace perhaps more trafficked but still less exposed to anyone but her. Upon seeing the stark whiteness of the bag, she smiled softly. Aiden would be happy to know she was really moving on with her life. She thought she might finally be ready to take her last look at the dress, and give it to someone who could put it to good use. The dress deserved a happy ending, after all.

Kate crept out of the room and into the kitchen. Glancing into the living room, she saw that Holly had left already. Although she had drunk more than any of them, Holly was young and able to bounce back from a hangover quickly. Kate found her pot on the kitchen island, spotless inside except for a small note.

Kate-

Didn’t puke, b/c I’m a rock star. Hope your night went well. You better not be beating yourself up over whatever did or didn’t happen. It’s not a crime to be happy.

Love,

Holly

P.S. Chris is a hottie, hope you hit that

Kate laughed into her cupped hands, stifling the sound. She put the pot away and then stood in the middle of the kitchen, thinking.

It’s a beautiful day, Kate thought. A beautiful day to really, truly start over.

She began opening cupboards, piling ingredients and utensils on the counter. She smiled to herself, thinking of how different this Independence Day was compared to her last. A moment later, she was stunned to find herself humming.

***

Chris woke to Kate standing at the side of the bed holding a breakfast tray.

“Morning,” she greeted him. “O’Bannon gets today for free since I was up first, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Chris smirked. “I don’t think I can legally charge for anything that happened this morning, anyway.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.