“I called vee. “how are you doing?” i asked. “good. How are you?” “good.” silence. “okay,” vee said in a rush, “i am still totally freaked out. You?” “totally.”

My first job entailed spending a summer working in a cornfield in nebraska.

She shrieked. “nora! What happened to the banister!” good thing she hadn’t seen her bedroom yet.

A war was coming either way. Now all i had to do was choose my opponent

Your biggest dream? – nora grey kiss you. – patch cipriano

I nibbled my lower lip. “if you could see into my past just by touching my back, you’d have a hard time resisting the temptation too.” “i have a hard time keeping my hands off you without that added bonus.

Vee never needed a reason to do something stupid. Sad thing was, most of the time i didn’t either.

The trouble was, my feelings for patch weren’t harmless.

I forced a smile. It was the one i’d been practicing all morning. It felt tight at the edges and brittle everywhere in between.

Anything was better than nothing. Half-full was better than empty. Ignorance was the lowest form of humiliation and suffering.

I trailed off.Patch leaned lazily against the counter. Dark hair flipped out from under his ball cap. A smile tugged at his mouth. My thoughts dissolved and just like that, a new thought broke the surface of my mind. I wanted to kiss him. Right now.

Every time you strip my sword, i owe you a kiss. How’s that sound?” i bit my lip to keep from giggling. “that sounds really dirty.” patch waggled his brows. “look whose mind just rolled into the gutter.

It was bad enough when i thought your ghost was haunting me; i don’t think i could handle the real thing.

Stop crying. You’re giving archangels everywhere a bad name.” patch to pepper

Kiss me in a way i’ll never forget. Kiss me in a way that will stay with me until see you again

I need to brush my teeth. And i need a shower.” he grinned, hopping off the bike. “now that is an invitation.

One more secret smile. One more shared laugh. One more electric kiss. Finding him was like finding someone i didn’t know i was searching for.