Just Don't Fall (Sweater Weather, #1; Appies, #1)

by Emma St. Clair

And there’s nothing sisterly about how I feel now, standing this close to her.

Ooop!

She smells like cinnamon and cookies and something familiar that hits me hard. The word that comes to mind is home. She smells like home.

“I gave Aaron your number. The one he had must have been wrong. He said it went to some business.” It sure did: Franco’s Birthday Clowns. Because after the dinner with my parents and the Wagners, that’s the number I gave him.

Lmao

Even now, when it’s early September and the leaves have barely started to hint at changing colors, there’s just something in the air. I swear, it’s like I can practically hear a chant: Fall! Fall! Fall! The air feels crisp, smells like smoke and pumpkin spice lattes, and the whole town seems to vibrate with the anticipation of cooler temperatures and some of the best fall foliage in the country.

I want to go. Lol

“I guess you’d know better than anyone.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “I would?” “You’re currently feeling up my abs.” I’m WHAT? While I’ve been focused on things like Logan’s hand cupping the back of my head and his stubble on my cheek, somehow I missed the very pertinent fact that my hand snuck its way underneath his shirt like a little thief.

The issue is that up to this point, kissing anyone at all has remained a fantasy. And only a fantasy. Because I haven’t kissed anyone. Ever. Not a peck. Not more than a peck.

“Surprise! I’m your new neighbor. Feel free to bring by freshly baked cookies as a welcome gift. I prefer chocolate chip. No nuts.”

STOP IT!!!

“I would, actually,” Logan says, and then his voice changes. It’s sincere and impassioned. “We’ve lost years, and that’s my fault. But I want to know what I missed. To know who you are now, Parker, and who you want to be. Not to start over but to start fresh.”

“Maybe it’s not too much. Maybe you’ve just grown used to not enough.”