Read Online Perfect on Paper by Destiny Moon - Free Book Online

great performance review, so you know they’ll ask you back.”
    “Maybe so, but if you didn’t want me to come back, I would not come back. That’s what I’m saying.”
    “Really?”
    “Nadine, I’d do pretty much anything for you.”
    “What?” She cocked her head to one side and stared at him. “Nobody’s ever said anything like that to me before.”
    “There is no way that’s true. You are a liar, Nadine Baxter.” His tone was sardonic, his face stern with mockery at her self-deprecation.
    “I’m not. I’m being perfectly serious,” she insisted.
    She giggled in spite of her words. She couldn’t help herself. The moment was suddenly hilarious to her. She felt so young all of a sudden.
    “Well, I would do anything for a chance to get to know you a little better, even if it meant having to work twice as many hours somewhere else.”
    Her heart throbbed inside her chest. The sincerity in his eyes told her everything she needed in that moment. She needed nothing else but that feeling of certainty that this was right. She leaned in and kissed him. The second her lips touched his, he threw his arms around her and pulled her in close.
    They settled into an embrace on the couch in Nadine’s living room, where it was plush and warm, a little nest in the cold of autumn.
    “What movie would you like to watch?”
    “You choose,” David said.
    “I’ve been working my way through Hitchcock lately. I don’t know if that’s something you’re interested in.”
    “I love Hitchcock. When I was in twelfth grade, I spent a whole paycheck on a pass to the Hitchcock film festival.”
    He regretted referencing high school immediately. He did not want to add that that had been just a few years ago.
    “Have you seen Spellbound ?”
    “Yes, but I’ll watch it again.”
    “Well, if you’ve seen it we can watch something else.”
    “No, Spellbound is perfect.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yeah. You haven’t seen it?”
    “No.”
    “We have to see that one, then.”
    David was relieved.
    “More wine?” she asked.
    “Please,” he said.
    She went to the kitchen for refills. When she came back, she said, “You look comfortable.” He had both arms spread out, one on the armrest, the other—suggestively—at the top of the couch, beckoning for her to sit down beside him and let him cradle her.
    Nadine could not wait to feel David’s arm around her. Watching the movie was just a formality. She’d have been happy to skip it. She sat down next to him and slowly, without seeming too eager, eased herself into the warm and safe comfort of his embrace. She could barely concentrate on the film but she was in heaven.
     
    * * * *
     
    By the time the movie was over, Nadine had fully curled up into David’s embrace. There was no mistaking it. They were cuddling. He had been so hyper aware of her beside him all throughout the movie. He was glad that he’d already seen the movie before because otherwise he would have had no idea what it was about. The smell of her hair was intoxicating and when he looked down, he could see her cleavage. He wondered if she was aware of how she’d positioned herself. Did she want him to see it? Did she want to torture him?
    Nadine turned off the television and sat up, leaning against the other armrest, though their bodies were still touching.
    “I’m so glad I asked you to come over tonight,” she said.
    “Me too,” he said.
    “Maybe we can do it again sometime.”
    Sometime . It was the kiss of death, David thought. It really meant never . He didn’t want to settle for that. He needed something more.
    “How about tomorrow?” His eagerness betrayed him. He knew it wasn’t good to play with open cards when dealing with a woman like Nadine. He pictured Nick giving him hell for it.
    “I wish I could. I have a deadline, actually,” Nadine said.
    “What kind of deadline?”
    “A client brought a dresser and wardrobe to me and I told her I’d have them back to her by Tuesday, and they