Christmas With The Houstons (Acceptance #4)
Page 21
Chapter One
November 2004
I've never seen such an example of physical perfection as the one I'm staring at right now. He just strutted into our kitchen with my older brother Jake as if he's been here hundreds of times before. He has black Wayfarers pushed up holding his brown, wavy, chin-length hair back and a canvas messenger bag slung across his broad chest. His plum colored Hawaiian shirt combined with jeans and brown leather flip flops gives off a bit of a hippy vibe. I'm not sure how I'm noticing anything aside from his gorgeous face...wow, that face. His cheekbones are chiseled and the strong angles of his jawline frame his plump and impossibly soft looking lips. Even though I'm only twelve years old, when he smiles at me, I feel a physical reaction, like hundreds of tiny butterflies fluttering crazily in my stomach.
"Hailey, this is my buddy and roommate at school, Cory." As Jake introduces us, he politely shakes my hand with a nice firm grip. I’m almost incapable of speech when I glance into his whiskey-colored eyes for the first time. It takes me an extra beat before I finally manage to squeak out an awkward "Hi," as I feel my face heat with a bright red flush of embarrassment.
"It's nice to meet you, Hailey. Aren't you adorable," he says winking at me. At this point, I begin slinking lower and lower down the ladder back chair I'm sitting on while doing my homework and wanting to disappear under the kitchen table. I glue my eyes to my math textbook as if it's the most interesting thing I've ever read.
"So Munchkin, where's Mom?" I roll my eyes at his hideous nickname for me before glancing up at Jake.
"She's gone grocery shopping. She should be home soon."
"Okay Munchkin, Cory will be staying with us for the Thanksgiving break. I'm gonna go show him to his room."
"Mhmm," I mumble keeping my focus on my book as they leave the room. Oh my God! He’s staying for a week. How am I going to make it through all that time when I can barely speak around him?
Dinner tonight is excruciatingly painful for me. Cory is sitting directly across from me so unless I stare solely at my plate of food it's pretty much impossible not to notice him. A couple of times I've glanced up and actually made eye contact with him and it's caused chills to run up my spine. Oh God, he looks even better now than he did two hours ago. His chocolate-colored hair falls to his strong jawline in a perfect chaotic mess of waves and loose curls. Every once in a while he runs his fingers through its thickness and pushes it back off his face. The way each shiny strand returns to its place is mesmerizing.
I try to pay attention to the conversation going on around me, but I'm too focused on watching the way Cory's large hands cut up his roast beef and the graceful way they lift his water glass to his full lips. When I'm able to pay attention and not be distracted by his good looks, I learn that he is from New Hampshire and an only child of divorced parents. He has plans to remain in Boston after he and Jake graduate from Beacon University in two more years.
The rest of the week passes without me making a complete fool of myself and I don't see Cory again until the next summer when I’m thirteen.
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About the Author
I'm a wife, a mom, and a dog lover. I'm also a taxi, problem fixer, extreme multi-tasker, and my kids’ biggest fan in anything they do. I’m married to my high school sweetheart... how cool is that? Margaritas and sarcasm make me happy. Chocolate makes that happiness grow exponentially. People who make me laugh are my favorite kind of people. I believe Karma is a bitch who slaps back hard and mean people suck. I'm California born and raised, and I love the beach but hate the sand. And, of course, I believe Starbucks makes any day better. I’m the author of The Acceptance Series and Chasing Cassidy with more books soon to come.
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For more books by D. Kelly – www.dkellyauthor.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Books by D. Kelly
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Sneak Peek – Chasing Cassidy
Sneak Peek – Waiting for Us
About the Author