I Saw Her Standing There Read Online Free PDF Page A

delude herself into believing that what was happening between them wasn’t serious. It was a weekend fling. If people knew, then it wouldn’t be just a fling anymore. It would be a
thing
. And Lucy didn’t do
things
. She dated. Here and there. She’d had more first dates than anyone she knew. Her friends teased her about her first-date track record, which Lucy embraced. It kept her from having to deal with things she didn’t seem equipped to handle the way other women did.
    Sometimes she thought there was something missing in her because she didn’t want the same things most people did. She didn’t dream of the big white wedding, the house in the burbs, the kids, the dogs. She couldn’t picture that life for herself no matter how hard she tried. Work made sense to her, or it had until Cameron left and everything changed.
    Now nothing made sense, and she found herself floundering at work like a ship that’d come loose from its anchor, not to mention she was embroiled in a
thing
with Colton Abbott, who lived six hours from her.
    How had she let that happen?
    “I thought you were going to meet me in bed,” Colton said from the doorway, where he stood holding a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a spoon and wearing a smile that made her want to give him anything he wanted. That smile was one of many reasons she was embroiled in the
thing
.
    “What kind is that?”
    “Coffee Toffee.”
    “My favorite.”
    “I know. You told me.” He scooped a spoonful and offered it to her.
    Lucy put the towel on the counter and went to him. He’d changed out of the wet bathing suit into basketball shorts that clung to his narrow hips. He sure was beautiful to look at. Placing her hands on his chest, she opened her mouth to let him feed her a bite. As the flavor of the ice cream exploded on her tongue, she couldn’t look away from him.
    He leaned in to kiss her, his cold lips sending a shiver through her that had more to do with heat than it did with cold. “Why don’t you get out of that wet suit and come help me eat the rest of this?”
    “Okay.”
    Kissing her again, he said, “You’d better hurry up. I can eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in about five minutes by myself.”
    “You’d better not eat it all!”
    “Then you’d better put a move on.” He closed the door as he left the bathroom.
    After having witnessed how quickly he could consume anything edible, Lucy rushed to change. A fierce debate ran through her mind as she decided whether she should go for sexy or casual, which reminded her once again that she was simply no good at these things. She felt like a bull in the relationship china shop, second-guessing her every move. It was exhausting trying to figure out this increasingly complicated situation, and she was making it worse by dithering over what to freaking wear to bed.
    It’s not like she hadn’t slept with him before. They’d slept next to each other every night they’d spent together since the day they met. But somehow tonight felt different. Tonight felt more important, and if she took this next step with him, she understood that she’d probably be committing to much more than a night of what promised to be amazing sex.
    She grabbed the tank and boxers she slept in at home and shoved the sexier, slinkier option to the bottom of the bag. That had been bought in an impulsive moment on her lunch hour the week before, but it would send the wrong message.
    No, the message she wanted to send was fun and
temporary
. This was
not
going to get serious. Not on her watch.

CHAPTER 4

    Only 370 taps to go. Lucky for the crew, it was too cold today, so they took to their skis.
    —Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, February 21
    P ropped on a pile of pillows, Colton watched her come out of the bathroom. Everything about her was tentative and hesitant. He was disappointed in her reaction to his suggestion that they take their relationship public, but he knew if he pushed her, he’d end up pushing her away. Since