Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“You know you don’t need to work, Reese. Your dad made sure of that. Stop acting like you don’t have any money.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as possible if I can make it or not,” I say, ignoring her comment. My dad did leave me a very sizable trust fund, but school is expensive, and I don’t want to be one of those people who looks back and wonders what happened to the money they had. As for Mom’s wedding, it isn’t even in Minnesota. The venue she found is in Hawaii, and that’s not just a quick weekend trip. It takes planning. The plane ride alone is seventeen hours with a layover, which means I would have to plan for at least a five-day trip. Not to mention, I’m not sure I’m mentally ready to be around Melissa—and possibly Kirk—yet.
“All right.” She sighs, sounding disappointed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll call you soon.” I hang up after saying goodbye and then walk back into my bathroom. After hanging up my towel, I check my reflection, then shove my feet into my flip-flops and head for the door, grabbing my purse on the way out.
When the elevator doors open on the ground floor a few minutes later, I immediately spot Brodie and, right on cue, those pesky butterflies with no sense of self-preservation take flight.
Ignoring them has gotten more difficult the more time Brodie and I spend together, but I’m determined.
As I wait for a couple with three kids and a stroller to get off the elevator ahead of me, I take him in. Standing with his arms crossed and a disinterested look on his face, his body language screams: Do not approach. I get it, or I’m starting to understand that he doesn’t love the attention he gets just for being who he is. More than once while we were out, random people came up to talk to him. And although he’s always friendly with the men who approach to say hi, the women are a different story. Or at least they are when they come up to him, breathing his name like they just finished having sex and are ready for another round. He dismisses them without much care.
When I finally get off the elevator, I step around the couple now trying to detain one of their little boys, who obviously has no desire to be strapped into the stroller his parents are attempting to lock him in.
Jeb is the first to notice my arrival and stands with a happy woof, wagging his tail. “Hey.” I smile at him and then look up at Brodie. A warm, familiar smile replaces the disinterested look he wore moments ago.
“Took you long enough.” He leans down to kiss my cheek, and my insides twist in response.
“Sorry. I was on the phone with my mom,” I tell him, rubbing Jeb’s head.
“Everything okay?” he asks as we fall into step and walk out of the building. Even with the sun not directly overhead, it’s still hot.
“She was telling me about the wedding venue she found in Hawaii.”
“Is that where she’s getting married?”
“She’s thinking about it. But if she does, I don’t know if I will be able to go.” I glance up at him. “She wants to have the wedding in August, but that’s around the time school starts.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah,” I lie. Because if she does have her wedding in Hawaii in August, and I have a legit reason not to go, it will make my life so much easier.
“So, what are you in the mood for tonight?”
“Whatever you want.” I shrug. With Jeb along, there are fewer options since we have to find a restaurant with an outdoor dining area. I don’t mind. I enjoy having him with us, especially after dinner when we normally take him down to the beach to run for a bit.
“All right.” Brodie wraps his hand around mine but then lets go quickly. “Sorry, habit.”
Habit? Like he’s used to holding someone’s hand so often that he reached out for mine without thinking. My insides twist, and not in a good way.
Sitting across from him sometime later under a dark blue awning outside an Italian restaurant, I study him as he looks over the menu in his hand while Jeb lies under the table at our feet. We’ve spent a lot of time together this last week. And we often text throughout the day, so we’ve talked a lot, and about many things. But I’ve never asked him about his love life, and he’s never asked me about mine. Is that weird? Should I know if he has a girlfriend, even if we’re only friends?
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Shit, I know how that probably sounded. He lifts his gaze to mine. “Not that I’m interested.” I hold up a hand. “I’m not. I’m just curious because you said habit earlier, like you’re used to holding someone’s hand.”