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Back First Comes Love
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

Evidence number one: I’m in love with Jake.

Evidence number one-b: Jake’s married to another woman and probably making love to her right at this moment.

Evidence number two: Richard’s a great kisser, he knows what he’s doing, and there’s chemistry between us.

Evidence number two-b: I don’t need to be already in love with him to sleep with him. I need to let myself fall in love with him one small step at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Evidence number three: I’m not committing to anything for life. It’s just one night. Yeah, I should take things on a day-by-day basis from now on. That should be my new life mantra.

Final piece of evidence: Amelia’s staying at Dylan’s tonight and we could have the apartment all to ourselves.

When the black cab pulls up in front of my building, Richard asks the driver to wait for a second while he says goodbye. Ever the gentleman. I exit the car, chanting in my head over and over again: to invite him in, or not to invite him in? To invite him in, or not to invite him in?

Richard rounds the car and is at my side in a few quick steps.

To invite him in, or not to invite him in?

“I guess this is goodnight.” He cups my head with both hands and gives me the softest kiss.

To invite him in, or not to invite him in?

“I should get going now; want to do something next week?”

To invite him in, or not to invite him in?

“I… yes, I mean. Wait here.”

Acting braver than I feel, I walk past Richard, lean forward, and knock on the cab’s window. The driver immediately rolls it down.

“Yes, miss?”

“You can go,” I tell him.

“You still need to pay me.”

“Aw, oh. Yes, sure. Of course…” Why do I always make a fool of myself? I’m fumbling desperately in my purse to find my credit card when Richard pulls out a bill and passes it to the driver through the open window. The driver takes it and zooms away into the night.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

He smiles. “You’re welcome.”

What do I do now? My split-second bravado is already gone.

“So,” Richard says.

“So what?”

“You tell me.” He chuckles. “You’re the one who sent my taxi away.”

“I did. Well, I guess now I can’t leave you here alone in the street.”

“That would be truly cold-hearted.”

I take a deep breath. “Would you like to come in?”

“I’d love to.”

I smile. “Great.”

Move on, I say to myself, you need to move on. My new life begins tonight.

Fifteen

Our First Date

♥♥♥

Twelve years before—Chicago area