Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
“You’re an asshole and I do just fine. I’ve got this. Leave, Landon. I’m serious.”
“Is he ugly? Why are you embarrassed?”
“I’m not embarrassed,” I say in a shrill tone. “I just don’t need you overseeing everything I do.”
He squints. “He’s getting out. How old is this guy?”
I shove his chest and then snag up my purse before rushing out of the house. Daniel has barely stepped out of his vehicle, before I crash into his arms, my lips finding his.
“My nosey brother is watching,” I groan against our kiss. “Can we hurry and bail? You can meet him some other time.”
He stiffens but gives me a slight nod. “Sure. Let’s get out of here.”
It isn’t until we’re inside the vehicle and leaving the neighborhood that I finally sigh in relief. I got a weird vibe about the whole thing. Not Daniel, because I really like him. More like I was worried what Landon would have to say.
I’m not ashamed.
I just don’t want to deal with his overprotective brotherly crap or the fact he’d tattle to our dad.
“Everything okay?” Daniel asks, reaching over to give my thigh a squeeze. He leaves his hand on my thigh below the hem of my dress and caresses my soft skin.
“Yeah. I’m excited about our date.”
He smirks at me, his eyes leaving the road for a moment to scan over my outfit. I’d chosen a summery white cotton sleeveless dress that dips low in the front and hits mid-thigh. It hugs me in all the right places. I wasn’t sure how fancy of a place we would go to and wanted to be comfortable, so I paired it up with a trendy pair of cowgirl boots.
“You look beautiful,” he murmurs, flashing me a smile.
Not hot or sexy or fuckable.
Beautiful.
Somehow that feels better than a comment guys my age would normally throw my way.
“Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself.”
He’s wearing charcoal-gray slacks that fit nicely around his muscular thighs. And a white button-up shirt sans tie with his sleeves rolled up. My gaze skims over his toned forearms that reveal the sexy kind of veins men have. It makes me want to lick up and down each one. While he drives, I admire how his shirt is tight over his biceps and shoulders. Last night, I’d clutched onto those arms and shoulders as I rode my way to ecstasy. A thrill of heat burns through my nerve endings.
In his car, I’m overwhelmed by the scent of him. Masculine, expensive, clean. His car is in perfect condition, but when I see a car seat in the back, I frown.
“You have a kid?” I blurt out.
He hikes a brow up. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”
I frown. I don’t think it’s a problem. It just makes jealousy burn up inside me. Not for the kid, but for the woman he was with to get said kid.
“No,” I utter. “Just wondering.”
“Her name is Jenna Pruitt. Well, Tauber is her last name now. She went to school with you and is friends with your friend Winter.”
He means the same Winter who brought me to the ER last March.
“We’re not exactly friends,” I state with a huff.
This earns me a frown. “She claimed to be your sister. I surely thought you two were close.”
Guilt gnaws away at me. After that day, Winter has texted me a few times, trying to reach out. She’s best friends with my brother’s girlfriend, though, so it felt like a forced friendship on my brother’s part. Regardless, I feel bad for blowing her off.
“I’m not really close with anyone,” I say quietly, hating that I’m once again putting a damper on the mood. “Besides you, Dr. Dan.”
“It’s okay to have friends and people to lean on,” he replies in a gentle tone. “I’m learning that myself.”
“So the car seat belongs to your daughter’s kid? This makes you a grandpa?” I can’t help but giggle.
He playfully grabs my thigh. “Knock it off.”
“Or what? Usually I’d insert some daddy joke about you spanking me, but something tells me I need to level up to more mature jokes, Gramps.”
“It’s for the little girl I’m hoping to foster.”
This sobers me up. “A doctor and a foster dad. Did I hit the good guy jackpot?”
“I’m a bad guy where it counts,” he says with a teasing lilt as his eyes rake up my body. “But yeah. To help my daughter.”
“She wants to foster? She’s young, though.”
“In my world, I’m learning age is just a number to quantify time, not something that factors in experience, heartaches, or maturity.”
I think about losing my mother to illness. How my entire mindset changed. The things my peers were worried about—shows, dating, sex, popularity—were all insignificant to my own thoughts. It makes me wonder if Jenna is like me. I didn’t have any classes with her, but I knew of her. A quiet girl who bounced between foster homes. I’d felt sorry for her, but we were on two different social ladders. It wasn’t until she started hanging out with Winter that she’d really even blipped on my radar.