Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Definitely!” I say, lighting up. “But I want to pay for that window.”
I hardly have a cent to my name, but I’ll take it out of my credit line and figure it out when I get home.
“Not going to happen,” he says as he bites into a French fry. “But you can do something else…”
The something else is getting a dog bone for Charlie. After a fun late lunch, we stop at the pet store in town and I buy the Ferrari of dog bones. The guy behind the counter said it was the best one they had, which made me wonder if he’s tried them all, but I was too shy to ask.
“I hope he likes it,” I say as we get back in the truck.
“I’m sure he will,” Noah says as he stretches the seatbelt across his massive body. “I once saw him eat a used tissue off the ground, so I don’t think you have to worry too much about it.”
“Well, the guy said it was the best bone on the market, so…”
“How does he know?” Noah asks with a chuckle. “Did he try them all?”
“That’s what I was thinking!”
We chat on the way over there and we’re really starting to hit it off. The jitters and nerves I was feeling at the beginning of the date seem to be disappearing the longer we talk. He doesn’t seem as intimidating the more I get to know him. He’s no longer just some hot intense mountain man, although he is still that, but he also becomes Noah—a sweet caring guy who I’m starting to crush on pretty hard.
“So, what do you do back in New Jersey?” he asks. “I bet it’s something amazing.”
My stomach sinks. “Not really.”
He looks at me and my cheeks start blushing.
“I’m a real estate agent,” I say with a sigh.
“That’s pretty amazing,” he says. “You match people with the house of their dreams. That’s special.”
“It would be,” I say as I gaze out the window at all of the passing trees, “if I made any sales, but I don’t. I made a sale on my first day and that was it.”
“You made a sale, that’s great! You just started, don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“It was three years ago.”
He gives me a look.
“What?”
“Maybe you’d have more luck out here.”
“Out here?” I ask with a laugh. “Are there even any houses out here?”
He chuckles as he turns back to the windshield. All we see are trees around us. We’re driving along a quiet mountain road with no sign of civilization besides the pavement we’re rolling on.
“There are houses,” he says with a grin. “We just like things a little more private than what you’re used to, so you can’t see them.”
I smile as I look over at him, letting my eyes linger for longer than I’ve let them linger on him all day. The windows are open and the warm summer breeze is blowing through his brown hair. His right arm is outstretched as he grips the wheel, his large muscles flexed under those sexy tattoos. He looks so at peace. So sure of himself like he’s right at home driving his truck through the mountains. I wonder if I’ve ever looked so at home where I live. If I look like I belong while I roam the streets of New Jersey.
I always thought New Jersey was too loud and too crowded. I can see how someone who’s lived here all his life can be so at peace. The mountains have that humbling way about them.
Every time we drive around a bend, a new spectacular view presents itself. There was a stunning waterfall a little while back, a gorgeous creek, and right now, I’m looking at a beautiful cliff with tall trees clinging to it.
“Are you looking to buy a house by any chance?” I ask with a sly grin.
He smiles as he looks at me. “The second I am, I’ll give you a call.”
“I hope you call before then.”
I get another one of those devastating smiles right before he turns off the highway onto a steep dirt road.
“You can bet I will.”
Chapter Six
Megan
“Just warning you,” Noah says as we take off our seatbelts. “Colin might not be in the best mood.”
“Why, because you broke his window?”
“Yeah, because of that,” he says with a chuckle, “and because he’s never in a good mood.”
“Oh,” I say as I look at the beautiful house with a slight tenseness in my body. It’s a modern cabin with large windows and a gorgeous wraparound porch. It’s nestled among the trees with no neighbors in sight. It looks like it should belong on a Pinterest page, not to a mean old grump.
I look at the seatbelt in my hand, wondering if I should click it back in and stay in the truck. Then, I see Charlie waddling around the house with his big floppy ears and I forget all about his grumpy owner.