When You're Ready by Britni Danielle Read Free Book Online Page B

perfectly placed charming lines and easy smile. It took all of my strength not to lose my head right then and do something impetuous like run my hands through his hair and stick my tongue in his mouth.
    “Umm, so, shall we?” I asked, already walking up the stairs to put some distance between my impure thoughts and the man who caused them. I decided to ignore Scout’s comment about me taking his breath away and focus on the task at hand: showing him around.
    We walked into the visitors’ center to get a map and a brochure, and to plan our course of attack. Normally, I wandered through the Getty stopping at random paintings and sculptures that caught my eye, but because it was Scout’s first visit, I wanted to make sure he saw it all.
    “Do you want to get the audio headsets or just walk around on our own?”
    “Just walk around,” he said, “that way we can talk.”
    Scout and I set out on our way, walking past a beautiful fountain and into a gallery. We stopped in front of several paintings and I dutifully read the displays and added my two cents about each one. For some reason I wanted him to know that I knew what I was talking about, even when it wasn’t exactly true.
    Scout seemed to enjoy my opinion about art, and after winding our way through several rooms, we came upon a collection of naked bronze sculptures by Pietro Cipriani.
    “These are pretty badass,” he said, stepping closer to get a better look.
    “Right?” I agreed. “They’re so lifelike. I’m always amazed when I see stuff like this. I wonder how they managed to make such beautiful things without all of the modern technology we have today.”
    Scout nodded, but stayed silent. He walked around the statue of the Venus and I followed behind him. “Look at her body,” he said, and I bit back a groan. Typical guy.
    “What about it?” I asked, worried he was about to say something douchey that would make me hate his guts.
    “It looks so…real. Like, if an sculptor made this today this woman probably wouldn’t even be considered a perfect subject.”
    “People appreciated all types of bodies back then. Now, every guy wants a stick-thin model who looks likes she eats every other day.” I rolled my eyes. I figured that was Scout’s type anyway.
    “Not every guy,” he said, walking around the statue and slipping his hand in mine like it was the most normal thing in the world. I looked down at his hand, which felt so warm against my palm, and then back up at his face. He was smiling.
    I pulled my hand away and ran it through my hair. Scout’s eyes narrowed and I hoped he wasn’t pissed off, but his mini display of PDA sent my mind swirling into a hurricane of conflicting emotions. Excitement, nervousness, and lust all banged around in my brain, and suddenly the walls of the airy gallery felt like they were closing in.
    “Umm, are you ready to, umm, head to the café?” I asked, hoping Scout didn’t think I was a dork for acting so weird after he held my hand. “I haven’t eaten yet and if I don’t get something soon you might have to pick me up off the floor.”
    He eyed me for a second, and then smiled. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
    “Great!”
    We headed out of the gallery and into the warm spring air. Almost as soon as we got outside Scout grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly, sending a jolt of electricity straight to my heart. Instinctively, I tried to slip my hand out of his palm again, but Scout gave it another squeeze as we walked toward the café. This time I didn’t pull away.

 
    6 Scout
     
    “Nola, you cannot be serious,” I told her, watching her fish through her gigantic bag looking for her wallet. She was determined to pay for our lunch, even though I had already handed over my card to the cashier.
    “I told you lunch was on me, Scout, and when I find my wallet, I’m paying.”
    I had to chuckle at her stubbornness; she was completely unlike anyone I’d ever hung out with before. While my friends