Friends-to-Lovers Read-a-Thon!

Once Kelly realizes his feelings for Addie run deeper than friendship, he’s on a mission to win her heart! Here’s a sample from 12 Days…

Addie would be home any minute. Which should be no big deal, yet here he was, pacing the house, trying to figure out how to look as if he’d been casually living his life. In reality, he’d spent the last twelve hours analyzing his feelings. Torture. If this is how it felt to be a woman, he had an even greater appreciation for them.

The rumble of her van pulling into the driveway drew him to the window. Standing off to one side, he watched her get herself sorted before exiting the brightly decorated, Sunny Daze delivery van. She shifted her purse’s strap up her arm, followed by the dual straps of a fabric tote bag he knew from experience would be packed with paperwork. Next came her insulated lunch bag.

Everything loaded over one shoulder, she used her free arm to open the driver’s door, then patted her pocket before locking the van with the fob in her hand. He didn’t have to continue watching to find out what’d come next—a second pat at her left pocket, where she kept her phone. She always did that. She’d never forgotten her phone, but she always seemed to doubt that she’d remembered it. One of her quirks.

He’d seen her go through this ritual more times than he could count. On a few occasions, when he’d been waiting on her for some reason, he’d teased her about it. Mostly, he’d ignored it.

Watching her tonight, he wanted to kick himself for not taking the time to really see her all those times. The cute way she talked to herself throughout the habitual routine. How she practically glowed, despite the evening darkness surrounding her. How, even loaded down like a pack mule, she still moved with the flowing ease of a confident, beautiful woman.

He’d always found her pretty. As the years had stretched on, he’d appreciated her body too, though he’d trained himself to focus on her face instead of her curves. Not the easiest thing to do, especially on days she wore ass-molding jeans or painted-on leggings. The times he’d caught a glimpse of Addie in a little camisole top with no bra underneath, or her cut-off sweatpants that showed her sexy ass, had forever imprinted on his brain. But, he’d slapped on figurative blinders and ignored Addie’s womanliness as much as a decent, heterosexual man could.

He’d been a fucking saint not to ogle her all these years. A saint and a moron. Keeping Addie safely in the friend zone had left the door wide open for the recipient of her cock-ring purchase. Well, it wasn’t Christmas yet, goddammit.

He hopped over the back of the couch, landing in his usual place as Addie opened the front door. “Hey, you’re home.” Clicking off the TV he hadn’t been watching, he rose and moved to the front hall, where he relieved her of the lunch and tote bags. “I’ll take care of these.”

“Thanks…” She tilted her head, adding a narrowed gaze when he reached for her coat, before she could hang it up. “Is something going on? Why are you hovering by the door?”

Not by the door, he was hovering by her. Something he planned to do the remainder of the evening, as a test. But the test wouldn’t work if she got suspicious.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to crowd you. When I heard you pull in, I realized I hadn’t started cooking anything. Thought I’d catch you before you got your coat and boots off, and I’d take you out for dinner.”

Her cute features relaxed. “That’s very thoughtful, but you don’t have to cook for me every night, just because you’re home.”

“I like doing it.”

“You really miss feeding people during the winter, when The Horne Dog is closed, don’t you?”

Hearing Addie mention his business brought a smile to his face. She’d been his cheerleader since day one, encouraging him to purchase the grill shack at the pier when it came on the market. She’d also been the one to suggest using his old nickname as the business name, which had turned out great. He owed her for both things.

“I miss the adrenaline rush of work, but I enjoy cooking for you more than flipping burgers and hot dogs at the booth.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet.”

“It’s true.”

“Then I’m the luckiest girl in town,” she said, smiling up at him. “You can return to duty as my personal chef tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll just grab a plate of veggies. Or maybe that salad I saw in the fridge, if there’s any left.”

“Yeah, it’s still in there.” And would be until she ate it, since he’d made it especially for her. “But forget the salad. Let me take you out instead.”

Hands planted on her hourglass hips, she drilled him with a narrowed gaze. “Are you trying to make up for what happened yesterday?” Women and their trick questions, where both a yes or no answer had equal potential for getting a man into shit.

“I just want to take my favorite girl out for dinner,” he said, opting for the non-answer answer. His focus dropped to her mouth as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, then let it slide free, all glistening, plump, and inviting as hell.

“Will it be the two of us? Or will Rick be tagging along, or joining us once we’re seated?” A rosy pink crept across her cheeks. “Because I don’t think I can handle more of his teasing about…you know.”

Oh, yeah, he knew. “Definitely no Rick. Just you and me. I promise not to let anybody else near you.”

“When you put it that way, how can I say no?”

“You can’t.” Heat swelled in his chest. The need to take care of her, yes, but more than that. He curled his hands around the bags’ straps before succumbing to his urge to pull her against his body. “I’ll put your stuff on your desk, then we can go.”

“Sounds like you’re hungry.”

“More than I realized.”

“Okay.” By her innocent smile, she was clearly oblivious to the double meaning in his words, or the growing bulge in his jeans. “Mind if I change my clothes and freshen up quickly?”

“Yeah, go ahead, do what you need to do.”

“I won’t keep you waiting long.” She squeezed past him in the small entryway, her ample tits brushing his biceps in the process.

A couple of days ago, the sensation wouldn’t have registered. He wouldn’t have noticed the blush on her face as she hurried away. His cock wouldn’t be rising to attention at the thought of her nipples hardening beneath her formfitting sweater. He wouldn’t be fighting the urge to follow her to her bedroom, where he’d speed up this test by kissing her sweet little mouth.

Test.

He snorted while taking her bags to the den. Who was he kidding? The fact he wanted to kiss Addie proved as much as the kiss itself would. He was physically attracted to his best friend. But that only answered his half of the test. The other question was on Addie’s page.

Her reaction to their accidental contact in the front hall could’ve simply been embarrassment. Or, it could’ve been something more.

He hadn’t cared much about test results while they were in school. Tonight, he had his sights set on getting an A.