Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
He turned to me.
“That’s all good to know, and I’m glad I know it. But what I need to know as your boyfriend is how you take your coffee. If you’re a morning person. What you eat for breakfast. What’s your favorite book. Shit like that.”
“Splash of creamer, usually vanilla, but I won’t turn down white mocha. I’m an all-the-time person. I eat when I eat, and I usually do it poorly, because by the time I remember to eat, I’m starving. I don’t have time to read for pleasure, but when I do, it’s usually a thriller. Riley Sager is a current favorite. And I don’t have time to watch many movies, unless I’m invited to the premiere, though I usually leave before it’s over so I can film my report. But I managed to catch Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, and it was a wild ride, but it moved me tremendously. I have mommy issues, so it would. How about you?”
“Cream, two sugars, three, if I’m feeling the need for an extra jolt. I’m a morning person. One of the things I hate the most about the yoke Dad laid on me was that I don’t often have time to wind down in the evenings, which suits me better than being on the go all the time. I start the day with a smoothie and oatmeal, or yogurt, granola and fruit. I read as much as I can, anywhere I can. I recently finished Stamped from the Beginning, which was hard to take, but it’s important I gave it my time, and I think everyone should read it. And I was moved by Everything, Everywhere, All at Once too, because I also have mom issues, but I’ve had a crush on Michelle Yeoh since I was twelve and saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is my favorite movie of all time.”
“It’s a good one,” I whispered, and I was moved right then, because he was sharing with me not because he was being interviewed, but because he was spending his Saturday night doing something kind for me.
Not to mention, I liked all the things he had to say.
“Important note, I’m a protective boyfriend,” he announced. “So, if this isn’t just normal family dysfunction, and shit goes bad in there, I’m probably not going to let you sit through it.”
I was still whispering when I said, “Okay.”
His voice changed, it became softer, sweeter, when he said, “You look really pretty, baby. I like your outfit. It’s gorgeous on you.”
I didn’t remember the last time I cried. I wasn’t a crier. I never had been.
But I felt them coming then.
Because, I didn’t know, since my last real boyfriend was in high school, but I suspected those were the words any devoted boyfriend would say to his girlfriend right before she had to walk into a house where she never felt she belonged, where it had been made clear she never did anything right, and she needed her man to say just the right thing so she could get through it.
I curbed the urge to shed tears, but they were in my tone when I said, “Thanks, Hale.”
“Let’s go have fun.”
On that, he angled out of the car.
And I thought he was being optimistic, but I had no choice.
I hopped out too.
CHAPTER 6
CHEZ COHEN
Hale
“You should probably take more brussels sprouts, dear, instead of the potatoes. I’m not sure there’s enough green in your diet.”
“You should start keto, Elsa. Anoushka and I are on it, and it’s amazing. We’re fit and have active lifestyles, so it’d probably work wonders for you.”
“Elsa’s always been a little chubby. No matter what she tries, it probably will never change. Right, Scott? Some people are just prone to storing fat. You’re a doctor. You should know.”
“I’m an orthopedic surgeon, Em. Not a weight loss specialist.”
“Anoushka has a couple of keto cookbooks,” Oskar said, then, clearly not caring enough about his sister to know she had nothing but a jar of Grey Poupon mustard, a stick of butter and a water carafe in her fridge, magnanimously offered, “She can scan some of our favorite recipes and send them to you.”
Inger bookended these comments by saying, “Maybe I should go steam some broccoli. It wouldn’t take a minute.”
All right.
Fuck this shit.
He’d had enough.
And she’d taken more than enough.
So they were done.
“That’s it,” he said, tossing his napkin down and pushing back his chair.
“Hale,” Elsa said softly.
He turned to her. “We’re going.”
“Maybe we can talk in the other room,” she suggested.
“I warned you,” he returned.
She tucked her lips between her teeth.
It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen her do.
Strike that, it was the only cute thing he’d ever seen her do.
But serious as fuck.
This shit was not okay.
It had started out all right.
Her family’s reaction to him showing was classic. They were falling all over themselves, shocked as hell, but even so, they were welcoming.