Countdown To A Kiss (A New Year's Eve Anthology)

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  OMG falling fast. Annabelle texted Grace and Tess the next day. Sending pictures of possible lingerie for Saturday night. Stand by.

  Annabelle snapped pictures of a combination camisole and boy-shorts, nude in color and adorned in French lace, a baby pink bra and panty set, and a sexy but fun black strapless negligee that tied under the bust with a big red bow.

  Your signature white? Grace texted.

  Wearing a killer white dress, she texted back. Her phone rang and Tess was on the other end.

  “I like the red bow. Like he’s opening a gift,” Tess teased.

  “Yeah.” Annabelle smiled into the phone. “I thought so too. It’s flirty. I just want to make sure it’s not too flirty. Too much.”

  “Annabelle, you are planning to consummate this relationship, right? I don’t think anything is too flirty at this point.”

  “I know,” she said, moving to a corner of the store so her voice wouldn’t be overheard. “It’s just that Duncan is such a gentleman and I basically threw myself at him the other night. I’m nervous. Everything about him, us, seems so good. What if it doesn’t hold up in the bedroom? What if he expects me to be all prim and proper? Or worse––what if he’s all prim and proper?”

  “You told me there was plenty of chemistry.”

  “On my side, yeah. My body is having its own nuclear meltdown. But he was the one who put on the brakes. I was a sure thing after one long kiss. I was the aggressor. What if that turned him off?”

  “Little sister, this is music to my ears. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “Oh, it’s in me. Apparently Duncan brings it out with a vengeance. I just…I just don’t want to be the only one losing control. I want him to be, you know, crazy for me.”

  “Trust me on this,” Tess said. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You have nothing to worry about. Buy the lingerie and call me on Sunday.” Tess hung up.

  Annabelle looked at her phone. “And then there is that pesky little detail of how we met,” she said to herself.