Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“I just said I have a very low threshold for pain, didn’t I?” she reminded him sulkily. She was acutely aware that all eyes were on them, and it made her skin feel too tight. She hated being the center of attention. Usually someone would have metaphorically stepped between them by now, diverting the topic to safer pastures. But everyone seemed very interested in how this was unfolding.
“I’m sorry,” his voice was a growl and his brow lowered fiercely. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She sighed. Aware that she was making this weirder than it needed to be. When it came down to it, she was trying to cover for the fact that she had been turned on as hell by his touch prior to the playful flick and as a result had overreacted to the startling sting of discomfort.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled. “You just surprised me that’s all.”
His lips thinned and he nodded curtly before shifting away from her. Putting a deliberate amount of distance between them and making her feel like a pariah in the process. He ignored her after that, it was pretty blatant, and she told herself she was happy about it. That she hadn’t wanted his attention in the first place. But in the deepest recesses of her mind, she was honest enough to admit that she was starting to crave that attention.
God, she needed this night to end, before she did something dumb like throw herself at him again.
Fortunately, people were getting up from the table. Kylie, Kyle, Lucy, and Cynthia made their way back to the poolside, and the rest drifted over to the fire still smoldering in the built-in braai. Beth and Cat were the only ones still remaining at the table and Cat scooted closer so that she and Beth could chat more easily.
“You okay?”
Her friend’s concerned question made Beth sigh. “I think I’ll head home. I’m fine…but not the best company tonight and I feel like a damp sponge dribbling sadness, doom, and gloom all over this happy gathering.”
“Oh, Beth—”
“No, don’t argue,” Beth interrupted, and Cat grinned.
“I wasn’t going to argue, I was going to say that, yeah, you’ve been a depressing morose little storm cloud all evening, but we love you, and we understand.”
“Not everybody understands,” Beth murmured, her eyes drifting to the man chuckling with his buddies in front of the fire.
“Well, that’s because he doesn’t know about Spock. Even Gideon—despite this ridiculous over-the-top animosity you two have going on—would understand and be sympathetic.”
“He’d probably make fun of me for being so sad about a bird,” Beth muttered, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“He really, really wouldn’t,” Cat said.
“Regardless, I’m tired and not great company. I’m so sorry, Cat.”
“Don’t be silly, you don’t have to apologize. Why don’t I come round for some coffee next week? And we can have a proper catch up? Just us?”
“I’d like that.” Beth smiled and pushed herself up. When Cat hastened to stand as well, Beth waved a hand. “I’ll see myself out. Please apologize to everyone for me. And tell them I’ll see them soon.”
Cat, who was in an awkward half-seated, half-standing position nodded and sat down again.
“Beth, if you need to talk, I’m right here, okay?”
Beth’s eyes welled up and she tried to clear some of the thickness from her throat.
“W-we’ll talk next week, okay?” she said her stumbling voice an embarrassing croak. “I need time to process everything.”
“Of course…but if you’re not coping, please pick up the phone. I’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”
“Thanks, Cat.” Beth—not normally a demonstrative person—impulsively rounded the table to squeeze her friends hands in both of hers. “It means a lot.”
And then, before she could embarrass herself even further, she fled. Only very briefly making eye contact with Gideon on her way out.
Chapter Five
The next two weeks flew by. Beth kept herself distracted with work. She’d been working from home ever since the first hard lockdown and that didn’t look set to change anytime soon, despite the relative return to what constituted normal now.
Beth didn’t mind. It’s not like her routine had changed that drastically. As a freelancer, she’d worked mostly from home before the world had shut down anyway. She had a fully functioning office set up at the front of the house, in what used to be Granny June’s room.
Beth freaking loved her job. She was a technical writer. And while she knew many people would find the work boring, Beth enjoyed every aspect of it. She relished the planning and the research and welcomed the opportunity to learn something interesting and fresh with every project. Currently she was working on a brochure for a relatively new insurance company. Beth was translating all the boring legalese into punchier, more digestible fare for the company’s younger target demographic. It wasn’t the most interesting assignment, but the project had been contracted to her by an advertising agency that she regularly freelanced for. And, because Bottleneck Advertising was one of her biggest clients, Beth prioritized their jobs.