Read Online Kaylee’s First Crush by Erin M. Leaf - Free Book Online Page A

air quotes to emphasize her question.
    Kaylee flushed
as the memory of him kissing her clit and grinning up at her sparked across her
mind.
    “Oh ho! I take it he’s very, very nice,” Darla crowed.
    “Shut up,”
Kaylee said, swiveling around so her back was to her friend. She pressed her
hands to her cheeks, trying to cool down. It didn’t work. “I used to have a
massive crush on him in high school. All the girls did,” she found herself
muttering.
    “Gee, I wonder
why?” Darla said with fake ignorance. “Maybe because he’s
gorgeous? All that dark hair, that ripped
chest. Mmm-hmm. I have a crush on him, like,
right the hell now, and I’m a grown woman.”
    Kaylee glared
out the window. Her friend was totally laughing about this.
    “Maybe we’ll
see him at the gala,” Darla offered more kindly, when Kaylee didn’t respond.
    Kaylee lifted a
shoulder as though she didn’t care. Which was a lie. The truth was , she wanted to see him again. Desperately.
    “We’ll see,”
she said eventually. When she turned around, Darla was gone.

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Hugo sat at his
desk and stared at the blank sheet of paper. A ring box sat next to it. It was
a simple teardrop diamond set in platinum, the match to the earrings and
necklace he’d already sent to her. He didn’t know if he should give it to
Kaylee or not. It was an engagement ring. No one would mistake it for anything
else and he knew it. Even considering this was crazy. They barely knew each
other, except…
    I know she’s
the one I’ve been waiting for , he thought, tapping
his pen on the desk nervously. She’s perfect for me, and I know it, even
after only one night with her, as insane as that sounds. The worst she can do
is say no, right?
    He thought back
to that fateful evening in Chicago. Her shyness, tempered with her
determination to not ask for anything, had drawn him in. Her sense of
self-worth and total indifference to his money had cinched it for him. He knew
her basic personality, who she really was inside, after teaching her for a
year, despite how long ago that had been. Now that she was all grown up with a
life of her own, her independent spirit appealed to him. She’d gone to college
and managed not one, but two degrees in the same amount of time it took most
people to get their bachelor’s. She’d moved to New York on her own, with no
support system and thrived. She was strong, but also still innocent.
    He nodded and
put pen to paper.
    After writing
his note, he sealed it in an envelope and grabbed a stamp. The box he put in
his pocket. He’d see her at the charity gala tonight.
     
    Kaylee eyed
herself in the mirrored wall next to the elevator. The gown she’d bought with
Hugo’s gift card made her feel beautiful. It was a deep rose satin, soft and
pretty. The bodice sat off the shoulders, highlighting her bosom. It fell in
soft drapes around her hips before elegantly swooping to the floor. She loved
it. She loved how good she looked in it.
    I suppose
having enough money to get something perfectly tailored helps , she thought. Dressing well sometimes seemed like an exercise in
futility as she hunted for clothes that would fit her top and bottom yet still
flatter her waist. With this dress, she hadn’t had to hunt around. She’d tried
it on and the boutique’s seamstress had fitted it for her body. It made her
breasts look gorgeous and her belly look nonexistent. It was the most beautiful
dress she’d ever owned.
    She clutched
the matching purse, blushing slightly as she heard the crackle of paper. She’d
received his last note just that morning. Unlike the other gifts, this one had
come to her office with the regular mail and hadn’t had any accompanying box.
It was just a note, but oh, what a note it was! She pulled it out, unable to
resist reading it one more time:
    My darling Kaylee, I have one more gift for you. I
hope you like it. I’ll see you at the gala.
    Love, Hugo
    It wasn’t
romantic at all, but Kaylee