Page 116 of The Design of Goodbye
“I’m never too tired to kiss you.”
“Then, yes.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, he did. He tasted like mint and boy and mine. I’d never felt anything like this for a boy, and it was terrifying, exhilarating, and...
He kissed my collarbone, my shoulder, all the way down my arm.
My wrist.
I couldn’t breathe. My skin burned where he kissed me. I wished his kisses would scar because I wanted the memory of this moment tattooed on my skin forever.
“Liam,” I choked out. “Stop.”
Immediately, he did.
“Sorry,” he said. “Was that too much?”
Yes. Maybe. Definitelynot. “My turn.”
I moved him so he was the one leaning against the wall. Then I kissed his neck like he’d done to me before. Eyes falling closed, his head fell back and hit the wall with a soft thump. His hands roamed—my lower back, my shoulders, my hair—like he was desperate to touch me everywhere.
“Magic,” I whispered against his ear, body thrumming with something I’d never felt before.
His eyes opened, and he kissed me on the forehead—soft, sweet, and just once. “Magic.”
chapter thirty-nine
I’d never expectedthe dress.
When I’d begged Liam to go to Traverse City with me after tutoring, I’d planned to shop for fabric for my next Harbor Show Fashion piece, not discover a piece of clothing that changed the trajectory of my Saturday.
But there the dress was, displayed in the Lace & Frills window, an hour away from home, waiting for me. I couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Madison?”
I jumped at Liam’s voice.
“Yeah?” I loosened my grip on the steering wheel.
“You okay? You parked and then spaced out.”
I pointed to the dress. I wondered if he noticed I was trembling. “We need to go in that store.”
“That’s fine,” he said, confused. “But are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
I knew who’d designed that dress.
Iknew.
But I had to make sure.
I didn’t remember getting out of my car or walking into Lace & Frills. But I must have because I was suddenly standing in front of the dress. When I touched it, a thousand memories flooded me.
“What’s going on?” whispered Liam.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. With trembling hands, I lifted the skirt, pulled back the cuff of one of the bishop-styled sleeves...
