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His hand rested on my thigh, warm and possessive and comforting all at once. I couldn’t focus on anything else when he was this close, couldn’t think about anything except the way his thumb traced small circles on my leg through the fabric of my dress.
I watched Derek and Kiara end up near each other by the food table and I couldn’t help but notice the way they immediately started arguing about something.
“Those cookies are too sweet,” Derek said, looking at one critically.
“They’re perfect,” Kiara shot back. “Just because you have no taste buds doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t appreciate good baking.”
“I have excellent taste buds,” Derek argued. “Which is why I can tell you used too much sugar.”
“I used the exact right amount of sugar,” Kiara said, her voice getting louder. “Maybe if you actually knew how to bake instead of just criticizing other people’s work you’d understand that.”
Derek opened his mouth to respond but Kiara just raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to continue. He closed his mouth and looked away and I realized with amazement that she’d actually won the argument.
I’d never seen anyone make Derek back down before. It was fascinating.
After an hour, Derek announced he needed to go check on something at the racing center. He was halfway to the door when Leah got
an idea.
“Where exactly are you heading to?” Leah asked.
“North Crest, why?” Derek responded with a questioning look.
“Kiara,” Leah called out to her friend. “Aren’t you heading that direction too?”
I nearly choked on my food. Tristan’s hand tightened on my thigh and when I looked at him he was giving me a knowing look that
made me smile.
Kiara was looking at Leah with suspicion. “Maybe, why?”
“Derek could give you a ride,” Leah suggested innocently, though we both knew there was nothing innocent about it. “Save you the
walk.”
“I don’t need a ride,” Kiara said quickly. “I’m fine walking.”
“I don’t have time to chauffeur people around,” Derek said at the same time.
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Chapter 231
But Leah smiled at both of them. “Come on Derek, it’s on your way and Kiara it’s like three miles, that’s a long walk.*
“I like walking,” Kiara insisted.
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*Suit yourself, Derek said, shrugging. Then he paused at the door and looked back at her. “Though I suppose if you’re too scared to ride with me that’s understandable, some people are intimidated by fast cars.”
Kiara’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“Then prove it,” Derek said and there was a challenge in his voice. “Unless you’re too chicken to handle a little speed.”
“Fine,” Kiara snapped, grabbing her bag. “But only because I don’t want to walk, not because you challenged me.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” Derek said, smirking.
They left together still bickering and I couldn’t stop smiling. There was definitely something there even if neither of them wanted to
admit it.
The party continued for another hour with people eating and talking and celebrating. Tristan’s hand never left my body, moving from my thigh to my waist to my shoulder, like he needed to keep touching me to make sure I was real.
Every time his fingers brushed my skin I felt electricity shoot through me and I had to resist the urge to turn and kiss him right there
in front of everyone.
soon.
Eventually people started to leave. Leah and the other women hugged me goodbye and made me promise to come back to training
Finally it was just me, Tristan, Orion and Sarah in the apartment. Orion and Sarah started cleaning up while Tristan and I stayed on the couch. I wanted to join but Sarah insisted on doing it herself. Lily and Liam had eventually fallen asleep.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, leaning into Tristan’s side. “For all of this, for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, and his voice was low and rough in a way that made my stomach flip. “You deserve to be
celebrated.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
