Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“How are you, Mrs. Davis?” I arched an eyebrow and sipped my coffee. Once I heard the back door close and my sister was out of earshot, I took a step closer to Valentina. “You haven’t answered any of my messages.”
“I…I didn’t know what else to say.”
“But yet you read them all. You could have blocked me or just ignored them.”
She looked flustered. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Uh-huh. Just rude enough to ghost me, got it.” I took another step closer. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?” She spoke to my shoulder, and I wasn’t sure if she was avoiding eye contact or watching for Bella. Probably both.
“Valentina?” I waited until she looked at me. “Have you thought about me since the night at the restaurant?”
She closed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”
“To me, it does.”
“Let’s not make it any more difficult than it needs to be, Ford.”
It was the first time I’d heard her say my first name. And I liked the sound of it… I liked it a lot.
“Why don’t I go first? I thought about you. A lot.”
“Why does it matter if I thought about you if nothing is going to come of it?”
“It just does,” I said.
The sliding glass back door to our house made a high-pitched screech as it slid open. Salt air rusted everything out here.
I lowered my voice. “Tell me the truth, and I’ll keep pretending you’re only Mrs. Davis.”
Valentina’s eyes flared. The door squeaked again as my sister closed it behind her.
I lowered my voice even more. “Come on. Tell me. Did you think about me?”
Her eyes flitted between my sister and me a few times.
I leaned in and whispered, “Say it.”
“No.”
Without taking my eyes off of Val, I spoke to my sister. “Hey, sis. I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”
Valentina looked like she was about to freak out. I smiled and mouthed Say it. The panic on her face was adorable.
“Fine,” she gritted through her teeth. “I did. Are you happy now?”
I grinned from ear to ear. “You hear that, Bell? Even Mrs. Davis says I’m right.”
Bella had no clue what we were talking about, yet rolled her eyes. “Whatever it is, don’t encourage him.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
“What are you doing here?” my sister asked. “And why are you here so damn early? You had to leave the city at four in the morning to get out here at this time.”
I shrugged. “Figured I’d beat traffic.” I locked eyes with Val. “Lately, I haven’t been sleeping well anyway. Something’s been on my mind. Keeps me up at night.”
My sister assumed I was talking about work. “Well, just do what you always do. Go after it like it’s nobody’s business, and you’ll get it.”
“Very good advice.” I grinned.
“We were just going to have some breakfast. Valentina was going to cook. But since you’re here, you can take us out, Mr. Moneybags.”
“I can do that.” I looked to Val. “John’s Pancake House?”
“Ummm…I don’t mind cooking. You’re welcome to join us.”
No way was I passing up an opportunity to get inside her house. “Even better.”
“Well, why don’t you give me a little bit, and I’ll wash up and get breakfast started.”
She disappeared into her house. I impatiently waited fifteen minutes, and then Bella finally came downstairs.
“You didn’t even change yet?” I said.
“My roommate from school called while I was upstairs. It’s impossible to get Brooke off the phone.” She tossed her cell on the couch and pulled the hair tie from her hair. “Think Val will mind if I take a quick shower?”
“Why don’t I go over and let her know before she starts cooking. Then you can take your time.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Ford.”
Yeah. Perfect.
***
“Hey.” Val opened the screen door and looked over my shoulder for Bella.
“She’ll be over in a bit. She wanted to give us some alone time.”
Val’s eyes bulged. She was cute when she freaked out, but I let her off the hook, leaning in close as I passed. “Joking. Relax.”
I hadn’t been inside her house in years…probably since I was seventeen and kept an eye on Ryan the last time. The layout was exactly the same as ours, only hers was painted brighter colors. I headed straight to the kitchen, my nose leading the way.
“Our chaperone is in the shower. What smells so good?”
“I’m making spinach and feta frittatas, with bacon on the side.”
A bunch of yellow sticky notes on the refrigerator caught my attention. A few had obvious errands written on them, but one just said Oil.
Val noticed me reading. “The back door squeaks.”
“You want WD-40, not actual oil then.”
“Oh yeah. Okay. Thanks.”
“I have some lube that can take care of you.”
She glanced sideways at me, unsure if I was being a wiseass or not. I managed to keep a straight face and turned back to the fridge.
Pointing to another sticky, I asked, “VS?”