Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88057 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Ah.” Cressida absolutely did not speak fluent football. “I think the food is almost ready. We should find seats.”
The dinner was a success, the teen Willmores packing away a stunning amount of food, Harley keeping the conversation moving, and Hester and Aaron’s friends providing a lively video montage tribute to their courtship set to music. However, the constant flow of activity meant that by the time the dessert dishes were cleared, I was more than ready to reclaim my dog and head up to our suite.
But right as I was about to grab Harley and make our escape, Hester clapped her hands. “Movie time! Everyone follow me to the lounge.”
“What?” I followed the herd of people down the wide hall from the dining room to a large lodge-themed space with multiple couches, chairs, and a giant TV worthy of any Hollywood screening space.
“We couldn’t leave everyone at loose ends tonight!” Hester squeezed my arm like she knew I was contemplating ways to make my exit. “It’s still early.”
“Says the young.” I feigned a big yawn. In truth, it wasn’t that late, but I was reaching my limit of social activities.
Hester, however, was having none of it, directing me toward a tiny loveseat. “Oh, you’re not that old, Uncle Ambrose. Now you and Harley sit right here.”
I squeezed in next to Harley, a tight, awkward fit. “Sorry. She’s kind of a force of nature. I’ll move—”
“No need.” He shifted, getting more comfortable with an arm around me, an easy cuddle as opposed to two people wedged together. “See? This is fine.”
“I guess.” I looked down at my knotted hands, wishing I had Hercules back.
“Hey.” Harley used his broad thumb to tip my face to meet his concerned gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I pretended to have interest in the start of the movie, a romantic comedy I’d already seen twice with Hester.
“Not buying it, boss.” Harley dropped his voice to a whisper. We were in the back of the room, and plenty of other people were whispering and paying no attention to the movie. Or us, for that matter. Felt almost like we were back at my house, on my couch, like he truly was a friend waiting for me to talk.
“Fine.” I exhaled hard. Maybe it would do me good to talk about at least some of my stack of worries. “Cressida says there are rumors of network budget cuts.”
“Oh yeah. I’ve heard some of those rumors.” He nodded like this was old news.
“Aren’t you supposed to tell me not to worry?” I gave a nervous chuckle.
“I’m always going to be straight with you.” His face was as serious as I’d seen it. This was a man who didn’t take honesty lightly.
“Thank you.” I nodded solemnly, then lightly added, “Not that you have to be straight all the time.”
That earned me a rare pink blush from him. “Noted. And I figure you deserve the truth even if it’s not what you want to hear.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” I let myself relax more against his arm. It was hard to stay worried with his warm presence surrounding me.
“And there’s always rumors of cuts this time of year.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Last year around this same time too. Cancellation season and all that. But you survived that round. You have a rabid fan base if nothing else.”
“That’s exactly what I told Cressida. We’ll be fine.”
“Yup.” His tone was far more pragmatic than my forced cheerfulness. “But either way, you don’t need to worry about Hollywood this weekend. Enjoy yourself.”
He leaned closer like he was about to sniff my hair, which would have been surprising enough, but then he lightly kissed my forehead. I couldn’t stop my gasp.
“Oh. What was that for?” I didn’t pull away, but I did search his face for clues he’d been body-swapped with an affectionate alien.
“Hester was looking over at us.” Stretching his legs out in front of him, he sounded totally at ease, nothing like the guy who only yesterday had professed to have no clue about how to be a good boyfriend. Which was hilarious because he was already in the running for the best one I’d had, especially when he added a conspiratorial grin. “And maybe you needed a kiss.”
Yup. It was official. No way was I surviving the weekend. And before I expired, heck before the night was through, I was going to get more than forehead kisses from this confounding man.
Chapter Eighteen
Harley
“That was torture.” Ambrose sighed as I closed the door to our suite behind us. He’d finally managed to say goodnight to his family, and we’d collected his dog from the energetic young dog sitter. We were alone at last, which, strangely, wasn’t nearly as terror-inducing as I’d thought.
“You’ve been hanging around your sister too many hours if popcorn, cookies, and a passable romantic comedy are your version of torture.” I had to smile and shake my head as I loosened my collar. Like Ambrose, I was glad to be free of the others, but his dramatic slump was adorably over the top.