After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Jim and I walked along the shore, holding hands. The water was too cold to swim, but dipping our feet in it was surprisingly pleasant.
The wine and Jim's kisses made me warm and fuzzy. I hadn't missed a chance to lean into Jim or touch him since we rose from the blanket. Judging by the grin on his face, he noticed.
"I'm not tipsy." I nudged his bicep. "Just happy."
"Better." Jim patted my behind. "I'd rather you remembered everything."
"You made the day worth remembering."
Jim smiled, looking at his feet and then at me. "Way to make a guy feel good. I'm glad you liked it. Just so you know, the day's not over yet. It's barely after six."
"What else did you plan?"
Clasping my hand in his, Jim led me back to the blanket and sat on it, pulling me onto his lap. "Whatever we feel like doing. There's no plan and no pressure. We belong to ourselves and can do whatever we want."
"Eating cake for breakfast?"
Jim pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "We've done that."
"Dancing?"
"Definitely a good idea."
"Watching sunset by the lake?"
Jim frowned and pointed ahead of us. "See the clouds over there?"
"They are far, and they didn't promise rain."
Jim moved me off his lap gently. "I don't wanna be a killjoy, but we'd better hurry.
"For real?"
"You'll see."
We barely had time to collect our things when the first raindrop fell. Stormy clouds covered the sun, and the sky wasn't blue anymore -shades of gray-tinted it, making everything around us look darker.
Jim and I hurried to the forest. Tree branches provided us with temporary shelter from the pelting rain, but the cold drops assaulted us when we turned onto the path leading to the Victorian.
Our feet slapped against the wet grass as we ran in the direction of the house. Jim extended the blanket over our heads, but it only managed to slow us down.
The wet fabric clung to my skin. I laughed, breathless, struggling to keep up with Jim.
He took my hand in his and ran faster.
"Jim!" I squealed.
"Almost there."
We dashed to the porch and climbed the wooden steps, panting.
"Damn." Jim pressed his forehead to the front door, trying to slow down his breathing as he searched his pocket for the key.
The first clap of thunder echoed in the distance when we stepped into the house and closed the door behind us.
