Calendar of Love

Excerpt:
I usually spent the Fourth hanging out with my girlfriends, but being alone with Aidan was a treat I couldn't resist. Kristin teased me that it was a date, which I hotly denied, but inside I secretly hoped it was. How was a girl to know?

The day was fun, and Aidan bought me cotton candy and won me a stuffed Snoopy. Our arms brushed sometimes, making me tingle in a warm, delicious way, but he never took my hand. Late in the afternoon we went home separately to pick up the things we'd prepared for the fireworks, and I still didn't know how he felt about me.

An hour later, we were back together and had claimed a patch of grass in the park where the whole town gathered each year to watch the spectacular half-hour display of rockets and starbursts. Coached by me, Aidan had brought a brand-new plaid rug. Because my mom refused to let me take the family's picnic hamper--she and Dad were using it themselves--I'd bought a new one and filled it with the fried chicken, fudge brownies, and other treats I'd helped her make yesterday.

These were the same goodies we'd been eating every year, and I loved them, but suddenly they seemed boring. I was so nervous, hoping Aidan would like everything. And mostly, that he'd like me.

Well, he gobbled the food with flattering gusto, but the best was yet to come.

We'd been watching the fireworks, oohing and aahing, and saying which we liked best. Then a huge starburst of white and gold exploded overhead in a dazzling fountain of stars. I stared at it in wonder, then turned to see if he shared my excitement. But he wasn't watching the sky, his gaze was on me. And that's when his mouth came down on mine.

And that glorious starburst in the sky was nothing compared to the tingly feelings that exploded inside me as his mouth caressed mine.

It was a closed-mouth kiss, but soft, tender, and lingering. Not my first kiss, but the first that counted.

And when it finished, he pulled back, and his mouth quirked into a shy grin. "When I first kissed you, there had to be fireworks."

Oh wow, he took my breath away.