Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“I am the only sane person. I truly am.”
• • •
I walked into the restaurant ten minutes late. The meeting I had earlier ran over. I glanced around and saw Wes sitting at a table reading the menu with a drink in front of him. I took off my coat and folded it over his coat which I held in my arm. The Uber driver wasn’t impressed he was taking me such a short distance. But there was no way I was walking in heels and with it being so cold.
“Do you need a table?” the hostess asked with a friendly smile.
“No, thank you,” I replied as I pointed toward Wes. “I see who I’m meeting.”
“Great, enjoy your lunch.”
“I’ll try,” I said as I made my way over to the table. Wes looked up and his mouth fell open while his eyes swept over my body. A little rush of satisfaction swelled up inside of me to see him look at me that way. He normally saw me in jeans, yoga pants, or sweatpants. My business attire was new, with the exception of the dress I wore at Rory and Finn’s wedding.
He stood quickly and walked around the table.
“Here, let me take those for you,” he said, removing both coats from my arm. He draped mine over one chair, his over the other. Then he held the chair out for me.
“Wow, where did this version of you come from?” I asked as I sat down.
“Oh, come on, you’ve seen me use my manners before.”
I raised a single brow. “I’m not recalling any recent moments, sorry.”
He smirked. “You look…wow. That is some skirt and blouse.”
After taking a sip of water, I set it down on the table. I would never in a million years confess to Mary that I had, in fact, unbuttoned another button on my shirt. “I find it hard to believe you’ve never seen a woman in a skirt before. You worked on Wall Street, Wes.”
He smiled and my heart tumbled about in my chest. Damn him.
“Oh, I’ve seen plenty of skirts. You just happen to fill that one out very nicely.”
I played it cool, even though my entire body heated. “Fill it out? Are you making a comment about my weight?”
His smile faded. “That’s not what I meant at all, Clare.”
Clearing my throat, I picked up the menu. “Have you eaten here before? Everything is delicious.”
“Clare, will you please look at me.”
I dropped the menu. “Not everyone can have a tall and skinny body, Wes.”
Wes drew back in confusion. “You think that I think your body isn’t attractive?”
Forcing a smile, I said, “I seem to…fill out…the skirt nicely.”
He shook his head as he ran his hand over his face. Leaning closer across the table, he lowered his voice. “Fucking hell, Clare. You’ve got a body that men dream about; they picture it when they’re alone and jacking themselves off. Do not ever, for once, think that you’re not attractive. I promise you every goddamn guy in this restaurant drooled when you walked in.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Wes shook his head and reached for his drink. “There isn’t one thing wrong with you, besides the fact that you think there is.”
Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I cleared my throat. “Th-thank you…for that.”
His eyes met mine and the air seemed to crackle with tension, but not the bad kind. The sexual kind.
Wes cleared his throat and focused on the menu. “I’ve been here plenty of times, sounds like you have as well.”
“Yes,” I replied with a nod as I kept my eyes on him for a few seconds longer. I looked down at the menu, but honestly couldn’t read a thing. My mind was spinning. Had I imagined him being angry just then? I assumed he was just being the normal dickhead he usually was.
“Hi there, is there anything I can get for you to drink?”
My head snapped up to see the waitress.
“Oh, hey there, Clare. The usual?”
“Hi, Lilly. Yes, please.”
“I’ll get that for you and come back to take your order. Refill sir?”
“Wes politely declined.
I thanked her and then went back to staring at the menu.
“I take it you come here often then?” Wes asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
My eyes lifted to meet his. “Yeah, I don’t work far from here.”
“How close is your work?”
Deciding on getting my usual, I set the menu down. “It’s a five-minute walk.”
He smiled. “That’s nice. You’re not far from your apartment either.”
“Nope, I can literally see my office from my apartment.”
“Wow.”
I gave a single head nod. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled as I asked, “So I’m assuming you changed your mind about the wedding wrecking?”
He shrugged and I could see it on his face. He’d done something.
“What did you do?”