“Yes, you will,” Chris said.
She could tell he was as reluctant for her to go as she was.
“Text me when you get to your hotel so I know you got there all right?” he asked. “I’ll worry if you don’t.”
“I will.” It felt good to be worried about. It had been a long time since someone had cared if she made it home or not.
She fingered Chris’s angel stone in her pocket.She didn’t know what she’d done in her life to be in the right place at the right time to meet Chris, but she thanked her lucky stars.
Smiling, Sienna backed the rest of the way out of the hospital room and turned to walk down the hallway, a huge smile on her face.
She had no idea what their future held, but she had a good feeling about it. About him. About them.
That night, she had a dream. She and Chris were sitting in a pair of rocking chairs, holding hands, watching the sun set over the ocean. Sarah and Tony were there with what she assumed were their spouses, and there were kids running around everywhere. Chris turned to her, and the look of love in his eyes was as clear and familiar to her as anything she’d ever seen.
“I love you, Mrs. King.”
“And I love you, Mr. King,” she returned.
Sienna woke up smiling and reached for the angel rock Chris had given her the night before. She clutched it in a fist and held it to her chest. “Thank you for sending him to me,” she whispered. “Merry Christmas.”
May you have the “Best Christmas Ever” this year and every year!
~Susan
First Kiss
by Susan Stoker
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Susan Stoker
No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Edited by Kelli Collins
Manufactured in the United States
Note From the Author
First Kiss is a brand new story that I wrote about Annie and Frankie’s first kiss. It’s been fun to “watch” Annie grow up and see her relationship with Frankie stay strong.
If you haven’t “met” Annie or Frankie before now, these are the books that you might want to pick up.
Marrying Emily (Where you meet Annie)
Protecting Kiera (Where you meet Frankie)
The Gift (Where Annie & Frankie meet for the 1st time)
First Kiss (Annie & Frankie’s first kiss)
Rescuing Annie (The “rest of the story” This book hasn’t been published yet, but it’s in the works!)
Annie also pops up in quite a few of the Delta Force Heroes series (the books that start with “Rescuing” and you see glimpses of her in the Delta Team Two series (the books that start with “Shielding”).
I love Annie and Frankie as a couple. They were “made” for each other.
I hope you enjoy their story…and are looking forward to Rescuing Annie to come in the future.
~Susan
Blurb for First Kiss
Annie Fletcher is far more tomboy than girly-girl; Frankie Sanders has a disability most boys don’t have to endure. But in each other’s eyes, they’re perfect—and the teen sweethearts have waited nearly a decade for their first kiss.
If they can find more than a few minutes alone during his holiday visit, Frankie and Annie’s Christmas promises to be the most magical ever.
Chapter 1
“Dad!” Annie yelled the second the front door of her house slammed behind her. “Are you ready yet?” This had been the longest day ever, and not only because it was the last day of school before holiday break.
Frankie was coming to visit today.
Annie knew her friends thought she was crazy for being so serious about a boy who lived all the way on the other side of the country, in California. That she’d never once been tempted to date anyone else. That she claimed to love him, even though they’d never spent more than a week or so together at a time.
Annie did love Frankie. Period. She’d decided when she was seven or eight that she was going to marry him, and nothing in the almost decade since had changed her mind. She talked to him on the phone as much as her parents would let her, and they emailed and messaged all the time.
Her parents had talked to his dad, and they’d all agreed that he could come out to visit her for a week before Christmas. His plane was supposed to land in an hour and a half, and it would take almost that amount of time to get down to the airport in Austin. The last thing Annie wanted was to be late.
Her stomach was doing flip-flops in anticipation of seeing him again. They FaceTimed regularly, but it wasn’t the same thing as seeing Frankie in person.
“Dad!” she yelled again, dropping her backpack on the floor. Normally she was careful to hang it up or bring it to her room, but at the moment, all she wanted was to get in the car and start heading south.
“There’s no need to yell,” her mom said calmly as Annie entered the large living room attached to the kitchen. Emily Fletcher was standing by the sink rinsing dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.
“Mom!” Annie said in exasperation. “We’re gonna be late! Please tell me Dad’s home from work,” she pleaded.
“He’s home.”
Annie sighed in relief.
But then her mom continued, “He got home about five minutes ago. He’s in the shower and will be down in ten minutes or so.”
Annie groaned.
Emily’s lips twitched. “So dramatic,” she told her daughter. “Rayne and Harley already came over and picked up your brothers, so we don’t have to wait for them.”
Annie rolled her eyes and headed for the stairs, but she was very thankful her little brothers weren’t around to slow them down. John was two, Doug was six, and Ethan was ten. Ethan and Doug were super excited to see Frankie as well, though John was too young to really know him yet. And while she loved her brothers, she was relieved her mom’s friends had already picked them up.
Since her dad wasn’t ready to go yet, she’d take the time to change and freshen up. Normally, she didn’t care too much about her clothes and hair, but she wanted to look her best for Frankie.
Ripping off her shirt as soon as her door closed behind her, Annie stood in front of her closet for a long minute, trying to decide what to wear. She sighed. She didn’t like fancy frou-frou clothes. Never had. Most of her stuff was black, army green, or khaki. There were no frills or lace on anything. Then, glancing down at her chest, Annie pressed her lips together. Most of the time she didn’t mind that she didn’t have big boobs. They would’ve made the obstacle course more difficult. But she desperately wanted Frankie to be attracted to her, and from what she could tell from the boys at school, they liked boobs. Big ones.