Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
I turned and walked toward my bedroom. Thank God the door had been closed. “He could have eaten the lunch meat in my refrigerator!”
“Oh, that’s nice. And then have him poop in here like he peed.”
I stopped walking and slowly turned around to face her. Her hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened with fear. It wasn’t lost on me how the damn dog was hiding behind her.
Coward.
Pointing to her, I said, “I knew it! I knew I smelled cleaner!”
She stood there with the cutest damn smile while Flash whimpered and lay down at her feet and stared up at me with his big brown eyes.
I’m so screwed.
Rory
Zero distraction zone
It took everything out of me to hold back how badly I wanted to laugh. Poor Finn. It was obvious he was a neat freak, and to come home with half his house in a mess really wasn’t funny.
Dropping the last garbage bag into the Dumpster, I peeked over at him. He still looked pissed. Flash walked alongside him like he didn’t have a care in the world. Truth be told, I was a tad bit worried about leaving him here with Finn.
“We worked well as a team. Got your place nice and tidy again,” I cheered him.
Finn’s eyes twitched as he glared at me. “Yep. Except for my new leather couch that’s torn to shit on one arm.”
Flash barked and jumped up at Finn.
Is that a vein bulging from his neck? Jeez, I didn’t know a vein could engorge that big.
Clearing my throat, I glanced between the two of them. I chewed on my thumbnail as I thought about leaving him with Finn.
“Do you really think I’m going to hurt him?”
Catching his eyes with mine, I nodded. “Yes. I do.”
His eyes filled with hurt, and I instantly regretted saying that. “I’m not going to hurt the dog, Rory. I promise.”
With a smile, I reached out my hand. “Well, it was fun!”
Finn rolled his eyes and ignored the gesture as he replied, “Loads of fun.”
I walked to the street and held my hand up for a cab. I didn’t live far from Finn, but it was dark, and I wasn’t about to run home alone.
“Hey, Rory?”
I glanced back at him. “Thanks for helping. We on for dinner tomorrow night?”
My body warmed when he flashed me that adorable smile of his. “You’re welcome, and I’ll see you around, Finn.”
The cab pulled up and I hopped in. I gave the driver my address, dropped my head against the seat, and took in a few deep breaths. I’d never had as much fun as I had with Finn the last few hours, from shopping at the pet store to cleaning up the terrible mess Flash had made. Covering my mouth, I giggled. “Poor Finn.”
“Your mind seems preoccupied this morning.”
Lifting my gaze to meet Clare’s, I grinned. “It’s nice to spend some time with you.”
“I agree. You work too hard, Rory. You really need to learn to enjoy time for yourself.”
With a nod, I agreed. “I know. It’s just so hard. When I started at the firm, I felt like I had to prove something to everyone. I volunteered for every case I possibly could, even if I wasn’t lead counsel on it.”
“Why?” she asked while taking a huge bite of her sourdough toast and fighting to keep her hair out of her mouth.
Chuckling, I watched her struggle as the wind whipped her hair about. The smell of fall floated on the breeze, causing me to take a moment to inhale and enjoy the aroma of cinnamon and musky leaves. I felt relaxed. This was my favorite time of year.
“Hello? Earth to Rory?”
“Sorry. I took them on to prove my worth. You know, with my mom owning the firm and all. Plus, I heard some girls talking when I first came on full time. They mentioned how I would be shown special treatment.”
She wore a thoughtful expression. “So you worked your ass off to prove a bunch of bitches wrong?”
Laughing, I replied, “I guess so. Got a ton of experience, though.”
“That’s good at least.”
“Yep.”
She took another bite of her toast. “But work is for sure not on your mind, Rory. Not with that goofy deer-in-the-headlight look on your face. You’re thinking about a guy.”
My mouth dropped. How in the hell did she know that? “I am not.”
Lifting her brow, she tilted her head and replied, “Really? Look me directly in the eye and tell me you were not thinking about a guy, and I’ll treat you to a mani-pedi today.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun! I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Stop avoiding the question, Rory.”
Taking a bite of my parfait, I asked, “What was the question again?”
With a huge smile, Clare pointed her egg-filled fork at me. “I knew it! What’s his name?”
I thought about lying and saying it wasn’t a guy who had my mind so damn preoccupied or blurting everything out and asking Clare for advice. I was positive it would somehow involve his dick.