Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
He's so out of my league. How could I ever expect anyone to believe that he’s my boyfriend—much less Miranda?
Colt smiled as he found their group. Focusing on Harper, he strode forward. “Hi, Angel.”
As soon as he reached Harper’s side, Colt wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his body. Pressing a kiss to her lips, he apologized, “Sorry I’m late.”
When she moved automatically to cover her mouth in shock after his kiss, Colt captured her hand and pulled it to his mouth to graze his lips over her fingertips. Mesmerized, Harper stared up into his deep brown eyes. She knew this was totally pretend on his part, but she couldn’t help enjoying every second of being pressed against his hard body. He felt so good.
The hush behind her made Harper turn her head to meet Beau's controlled features that didn’t reveal his thoughts, Amber’s shocked glances, and Maisie’s wide mouth expression of astonishment. They were going to have questions. She heard Colt’s low chuckle and squeezed her thighs together as the sound fueled the arousal that had flared into life the second he’d entered Murphy’s.
“The tour bus driver got slowed down by the traffic on the highway,” Colt explained. “I was about ready to jump out and run when it finally cleared. Thank goodness the rental place brought the truck to me to save time.”
“You expect us to buy that Colt Ziegler is really your boyfriend, Harper?” Miranda interjected with a brittle laugh of disbelief.
“Sorry?” Colt looked at her with confusion written on his face. “Were you in our class?”
Harper kept herself from laughing as he even looked directly at her Avondale Dragons’ graduate nametag. He was so good. Even Harper couldn’t tell he recognized her name.
“Colt! I’m Miranda Teasdale. I led the Dragonettes.”
“Weren’t you the head cheerleader?” Colt asked Amber.
“Not the cheerleaders—the Dragonettes. I led the dance team,” Miranda corrected him with offense dripping from her words.
“Oh. That makes sense. The dance team was on the field while I was in the locker room.” Colt shrugged off her self-inflated importance and turned to extend his hand to Beau. His broad shoulders separated Miranda from the small group of friends.
“I guess you’ve got that Senate seat all wrapped up by now. I hear your name all over the news even in Nashville, Beau,” Colt greeted him, completely dismissing the woman behind him as they shook hands.
“Wish me luck, Colt. I’m glad to see you in person,” Beau said with a smile. “Seems like a very long time since I could lob the ball your way on the field and rely on you to catch it.”
“I could still use you as a backup singer if the politics thing doesn’t work out for you,” Colt joked, making the group laugh.
Turning his attention to Maisie and Amber, he hugged them close before returning to wrap his arm around Harper’s waist and asking them, “When are you finally moving home?”
When Harper tried to shift away, he tightened his hold on her and looked down to meet her gaze with a stern, silent message. Instantly, Harper subsided. Yes, Daddy. She almost giggled as that thought burst into her mind.
She forced herself to listen to the conversation as Amber shared the news about her new job at Avondale’s General Hospital. “I can’t believe you’re going to be in town now. This is going to be so much fun. We can come to Murphy’s together after work,” Harper enthused.
“Not me. I’m still in the think tank in DC,” Maisie added quickly before turning her attention on Colt. “And I don’t think they’ll let you out of Nashville.”
Colt just smiled down at her. “Coming home sounds good now,” he said, looking at Harper before drawing her in for another kiss. He had to glimpse the confusion and wonder on his friends’ faces. Colt enjoyed keeping them on their toes.
“Have I missed something?” Amber asked as soon as Miranda drifted away with a snort of disbelief.
“Congratulate us. Harper finally agreed to be my girl,” Colt answered before Harper could say anything. He was definitely not pretending anything for the other classmates at the reunion.
“Wow! I’m so happy for you. Why didn’t you say something?” Amber asked.
“We needed this to be secret for a while. Now, we’re ready to tell the world,” Colt shared and rewarded Harper with a squeeze when she smiled shyly and nodded.
Before Amber, Beau, and Maisie could ask questions, a server approached with two microphones. “Rio sent me. I keyed up your favorite song from your senior year. Come sing for the crowd,” she invited.
Before Harper could refuse, Colt accepted the microphones and steered her to the small stage. “Do this for me, Angel. I’ve wanted to sing with you for over seven thousand, two hundred and twenty days.”
“How do you keep count of all of those numbers?” Harper said in disbelief, walking automatically at his side.