Total pages in book: 296
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
“My thoughts are anything but gentlemanly.” I waggle my brows as I stare at her bare legs. “Especially with you wearing that.”
She blushes and shakes her head at me.
“Ready?” I ask after I get in the driver’s side.
“Yep! If anyone asks, I’m visiting my friend Camila this weekend.”
“Camila? Got it.” I smirk.
“Do you remember in high school when Thomas Blake asked me to junior prom?” she asks as I turn on the main road that leads out of town.
I look at her confused. “Huh?”
“Thomas Blake,” she repeats. “The quarterback of the football team,” she clarifies, though I know exactly who she’s talking about. The asshole I nearly punched in the face after I found out he’d asked her.
“What about him?” I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, hoping she’s not about to confront me about something in the past.
“I’ve just been doing some thinking lately and wondering why no guys asked me out until my senior year because the day after Thomas did, he canceled.”
I feel her staring at me.
“Huh. Weird.”
“Yeah,” she draws out the word. “Weird.”
I finally look at her. “You think I had something to do with it?” I lift a brow, feigning innocence.
“I’d be willing to bet money you did.” She crosses her arms, glaring. “I started to put it together the other day, especially when I asked Riley about it, and he looked at me like I’d grown a second head. So that only leaves one other option…”
“That you just weren’t that nice in high school, and no guy wanted to date you?”
She smacks my arm so hard, I actually groan and pull away from her. “See?”
“Don’t play dumb!” She points her finger and narrows her eyes at me. “I know you must’ve said or done something to make sure no one ever asked me out. It’s no coincidence that once you graduated, a few guys finally did.”
I inhale a deep breath and readjust myself in the seat. “It was for your own good, Rowan.”
“Oh my God!” she screeches. “I knew it!”
“Okay, geez. Take it down an octave, babe.”
“I can’t believe you…” She pouts and looks out the window.
Reaching over, I grab her hand and thread my fingers through hers. “You can’t be mad. That was years ago, and we’re together now, so…you’re welcome.”
Slowly, she turns her head toward me as though she’s possessed. Her eyes are squinted so tight that I’m waiting for her to blow me up with her lazers.
“You’re really mad I told some punks to stay away from you?” I pop a brow.
She continues glaring, but it’s so damn cute, and I can’t help but laugh at how adorable she acts when she’s upset.
“This isn’t funny!”
“Alright, fine.” I bring our locked hands to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles. “Let me make it up to you this weekend, and you’ll be glad I kept those little dickheads away. Otherwise, the alternative would’ve been you dating some tool bag who would’ve broken your heart. And you were going off to college anyway.” I flash the most charming smile I can.
“Well, we could’ve gone to the same college together…” she counters.
“Name one guy in our high school who went to the University of Houston,” I challenge.
“If I had dated someone, and it was serious, he might’ve followed me. Or I could’ve followed him to another school. You don’t know!”
I snicker at how serious she is about this. “But aren’t you glad you came back to me?”
Rowan rolls her eyes as she struggles to fight a smile.
“You forgive me?”
“No,” she says dryly. “But maybe you’re right about the long-distance thing. Nick and I went to the same school, and it still didn’t work out.”
The corner of my lips tilts up. “That’s because he’s a fucking asshole. It’s no coincidence y’all broke up before you moved back home. It just allowed me to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of having in a man.”
“Don’t be smug! This doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.”
“I’m about to romance your pants off this weekend, and you’ll forget all about those lame high school boys.”
She snorts, then starts chuckling. The sound is contagious, and soon, we’re both laughing our asses off.
“I really should’ve suspected something when no one would dance with me in middle school.”
“Exactly!” I say proudly. “Now we can tell our kids we were each other’s first kiss.”
Rowan blushes, then smiles. “You got lucky that after years of tormenting me, I actually did end up liking you.” She pinches her thumb and finger together. “Just a little.”
“I think you mean a lot,” I mock.
She shrugs casually. “Nothing else to do, so…”
My eyes widen.
She bursts out laughing. “Relax, geez! I’m kidding.”
“Now you have to make it up to me…” I tell her. “I expect full service treatment too.”
“You ruined all my teenage dating opportunities,” she reiterates. “You have years of making it up to me.”