The Secret Crush Read Online Free PDF Page A

as my eyes scanned the room. There wasn’t anything. No vomit, fake or real, anywhere. There wasn’t anything at all.
    I began to reach into my back pocket for my walkie talkie when a large hand clasped my shoulder and pulled me close.
    A scream ripped from my throat, but it was drowned out by all the other ones that filled the house. My heart pounded in my chest as I squirmed to get free.
    “Shh, it’s okay, Hadley,” a man’s voice whispered. I stilled, trying to figure out where I knew the voice from. It was hard to hear with all the other noises, and his whisper was low, but I knew it was familiar somehow.
    “Who are you?”
    He didn’t answer my question. “I’m sorry to bring you here under false pretenses, Hadley,” he murmured against my ear, his warm breath tickling me and sending chills down my arms. “And I certainly didn’t mean to startle you. I simply wanted a few minutes alone with you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because some things can’t be fully expressed in a note. Some things are better said face-to-face.”
    My eyes widened as I realized this was my secret crush. The guy who had been sending me messages and flowers and drinks for weeks now.
    “It’s you.”
    “It’s me,” he whispered back.
    He let go of my shoulder, sliding his arm down my own before he wrapped it around my waist, holding me steady. My skin sizzled everywhere he touched, even through my clothes. I wasn’t sure if it was the mystery of not knowing who he was or the sultry voice that lingered in my ear, but my heart was racing.
    My back was pressed against his chest. It was solid and broad as his frame engulfed my tiny one. “Why won’t you tell me who you are?”
    “I want to.” His voice never rose above a whisper, making it impossible to know who he was. He moved his face against my hair and neck. My eyes slid shut as he held me there. “There is so much I want to say, Hadley, but it’s not time yet.”
    “Please, just tell me.” Between the sweet things he’d done, his romantic words, and the way he set my body on edge, I was more than ready to know who it was. I reached my hand around, feeling for him.
    His free hand found mine and he entwined our fingers, gently brushing his thumb over my knuckles. “If I reveal myself to you now, Hadley, you won’t see all of me.”
    “I will,” I assured him. “I promise. My mind is completely open. Just tell me.”
    “I waited three years for this chance, Hadley. You can wait a little bit longer.”
    My head tilted back, and I leaned on his chest. His thumb continued, now sliding up and down my forefinger. Tiny swipes back and forth, each one like a flame licking my hot skin. My fingers tingled with the need to touch him back, but I couldn’t move. All the noise from the other rooms seemed to fade away as he held me there. And even though I didn’t know who he was, I felt at home in his arms. Like it was where I belonged.
    “Close your eyes, Hadley.” My eyes slid shut upon his command. “No peeking.”
    I nodded, keeping my eyes tightly shut as he spun me around, facing him. My lips parted slightly as he reached up and cupped my face in his hands. I held my breath, anticipating whatever he was going to do next. My pulse raced as the seconds ticked by. God I hope he kisses me , I prayed.
    “I want you to do something for me, Hadley.”
    “Okay,” I murmured.
    “When everything is over tonight. When the last guest has gone home and the lights are all out. When you’re back in your dorm and the world is quiet, I want you to glance out your window and look out at the stars. At how brightly they shine down from millions of miles away. And then I want you to remember what I’m telling you right now.”
    He moved his face against mine, his breath like a warm caress against my cheek. “You, Hadley, shine brighter than them all. You radiate beauty and warmth and passion and determination. You put them to shame, Hadley.”
    I sucked in a breath as tears pooled at his