Not Pretending Anymore Ward, Penelope (good books for high schoolers .txt) 📖

lucky I was to have these hands on me; they brought life into the world almost every day, and now they were taking a break from that just to make me feel good.

“You know what sucks?” he asked as he continued to rub my shoulders.

“What?”

“I really wish I could cook. I have this urge to make you dinner tonight—to take care of you—but I can’t cook to save my life.” He lowered his hands and circled his knuckles against my lower back.

It felt damn good. I closed my eyes again. “You have so much going for you as it is. If you were a great cook on top of everything else, that would almost make you too good to be true.”

He laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do.”

“I have an idea,” he said, turning me around to hold me. “How about we order from that great Italian place down the street, and I’ll pretend I made it? I’ll serve it to you.”

My face felt momentarily hot. Food from Nonna’s reminded me of my remote dinner with Declan. Not sure why I felt guilty, but I did. But that was silly. I needed to just enjoy this moment.

“I think that sounds amazing,” I finally said.

When Will left to go pick up the takeout, I used the bathroom and refreshed my makeup. I put on some of Will’s favorite jazz music, and as the minutes passed, I began to feel excited about his return.

After he got back, Will plated our takeout, insisting that I let him cater to me while I sat at the table.

“Why are you being so nice to me tonight?” I asked.

“Because I know you’re under a lot of stress, and I want to take your mind off it,” he said as he used tongs to scoop out linguini. “I work so much, and our schedules don’t always match up, so I need to take advantage of any opportunity I get to show you how much you’re starting to mean to me.”

That made me feel warm inside. “You’re starting to mean a lot to me, too.”

Will brought our plates over to the table. “Wine with dinner, right?”

“I would love some.” I stood. “I can open it.”

He held out his hand. “No, I’m serving you, remember? Let me.”

He walked over to the counter and took two bottles of wine he’d purchased out of a paper bag.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be in the mood for red or white. So I bought a sauvignon blanc and a cabernet.”

“White is great.”

“You got it.” He winked.

I pointed. “Opener is in the second drawer to the left.”

Will grabbed the opener and took out two of my nicer wine glasses. Those were the ones I reserved for guests, so I supposed it was fitting to use them tonight.

“Huh,” he said, examining the glass.

“What?”

“There’s a pink M&M in one of these glasses.”

My heart clenched. Declan had showed up to say hello—or maybe fuck you to Will. This evening was probably the longest I’d gone without thinking of him.

Will put the M&M in his mouth and chomped it. That seemed wrong, symbolic in some way, like he was eating the last of my lingering feelings for another man.

He approached with the two glasses of wine. “Here you go, lovely.”

“Thank you.” I took a long sip.

We listened to jazz as we devoured the delicious food. As always, we talked a lot about work during dinner.

After, Will refilled our wine glasses before we moved over to the couch. It was relaxing to just sit with him and listen to music without having to say much.

“Can I confess something?” I asked, looking at his gorgeous face.

He grabbed my hand. “Of course.”

“I used to have the biggest crush on you—before we started dating.”

Will smiled and squeezed my hand. “I love that.”

“It was mainly based on your looks and my admiration for how you handle your patients. But my impression of you is nothing compared to the reality. You’re a good doctor, but more than that, you’re a great man, Will.”

“Well, see? Now I have to kiss you.” He leaned in and took my mouth with his.

The taste of wine immediately registered as our tongues danced. Will was an amazing kisser. When I finally managed to pry myself off of him, I rubbed my swollen lips.

He set his wine glass down and pulled me in to rest my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my hair. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

My voice was muffled as I spoke into his chest. “I don’t know… I’m excited. Excited for the future, I guess, but also scared of the next several months in terms of my father.”

He rubbed the top of my arm. “I think you need something to look forward to.”

I looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s make a pact. If things are going well with us in six months, we’ll take our vacation at the same time and go somewhere amazing.”

He wants to go away with me? “I can’t tell you the last time I took a vacation,” I said.

“It’s been a couple of years for me.”

I felt giddy. “Where would you want to go?”

A smile crossed his face. “I’m thinking something like…Hawaii. What do you say?”

Hawaii? Hawaii with Will sounded like a dream. But there was one not-so-little problem. I wasn’t sure I could afford it.

As if he could read my mind, he said, “I’d be paying, of course.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that. I can save for it. I—”

“I want to. That’s not up for debate. If I can’t spend my money on someone I care about, who can I spend it on? This will be an epic trip, and I don’t want you to have to worry about the financial aspect. I just want us to have fun.”

My mouth hung open. “Well, I don’t even know what to say.”

His brow lifted. “Say you’ll come with.”

“Yes!” I sat up to hug him. “Yes, of course I will—assuming the situation with my dad