Page 56 of The Heiress
Slivers of moon slice at my heart
What? I was now making up poems!
In the silence, my whisper was barely audible. “Hey, I’m glad you and your mom made up. And you’re going to crush it. With the tennis, I mean. You’ll get to Wimbledon one day, I’m sure of it. You work too hard not to make it.”
At first I thought my voice had been too soft as there was no response, but the water swirled around me and averting my gaze from the light of the moon, I saw—and felt—Phoenix move closer to me.
His eyes studied mine, flickering, glimmering with a hope that sent me spiraling into a world of undreamed possibilities.
“Thank you, it means a lot,” Phoenix murmured, closing the gap between us.
My heart thumped like the beat of a heavy metal band as I anticipated the inevitable. Because there could only be one outcome, right? The gentle look in his eye, the glow, the serenity, the nearness was leading to one thing...
And I wanted it. I wanted to feel, to touch, to kiss Phoenix Carter.
I moved away from the wall, disturbing the stillness, an inch closer, a moment of panic that I was misreading his intention, but under the sliver of the moon, his words were all I wanted to hear.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
It was light, a brush, a grazing of lips, slow and tentative, almost like we were testing it, trying it out, like wine tasting.
But when his arms swept around me, there was no uncertainty—I was pretty sure Phoenix liked kissing me as much as I liked kissing him.
Chapter 17
Phoenix
Icouldn’t believewhat I was doing.
Kissing Elisha, that is.
Yeah, bold—not me. Experienced—not a bit (you can’t count the U10s tennis tournament where my mixed doubles partner, Kayley, kissed me on the cheek.) And romantic—I didn’t think so.
But there I was, moving toward her, wrapping my arms around her, pressing my lips against hers—heart racing, skin tingling, feeling like the king of the world.
It was spontaneous, but not, if you know what I mean.
