Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“You asked Maren to go?”
I nod.
“Is she your person now?” He’s baiting me with a giant, fat worm.
“I thought we ended the you-being-my-person thing.”
“I thought we ended something else. I was unaware that the two were mutually exclusive.”
“They’re not.” I tip my chin up as if I know where this is going. I don’t.
“Then I’m hurt you didn’t ask me.”
I narrow my eyes. Hurt? He’s not hurt. He’s, once again, messing with me.
“I’m hurt you didn’t invite me bowling. You know I like Gary and Evette.”
He pushes off the wall and glances at his watch. “Hurry up. We leave in twenty minutes.”
“I . . .” My words die when he gives me a challenging expression. “Twenty.” I smile and shoot into the bathroom.
“You’re late,” he scolds when I hop in his truck.
“Two minutes.”
“If you’re two minutes late for your plane, it will leave without you.” He pulls onto the street.
“So why didn’t you leave without me?” I stare at the side of his head.
His lips twitch.
“You knew I’d be worth the wait.”
Fitz gives me a sidelong glance. “Yeah. You’re worth a two-minute wait.” He returns his attention to the road.
“Five minutes?”
He bobs his head in contemplation.
“Ten?”
“No.”
I laugh. “Yet another reason you’re still single.”
“You think that’s it?” His brow furrows.
“Perhaps.”
He hums. “Then what explains why you’re still single?”
“That’s easy. I’m ten years younger than you. I’m hotter than you, which makes me intimidating. And I chose to be a travel nurse because I don’t want to stay in one place for too long, which makes me inaccessible.”
“You’re not hotter than me.”
I love that he latched on to that. “We’ll ask Gary and Evette.”
“Pfft. Then you lose for sure. Despite what you think, they’re my friends.”
“Speaking of hot people, did you know that Dr. Reichart lost her virginity to Will?”
Fitz shoots me a glance with a sour face. “No.”
“Yes. And he broke her heart too.”
Fitz focuses on the road. “Fucker never told me that.”
I giggle. “Well, I wish I didn’t know. I don’t know if I’m comfortable hearing personal details about my boss. Don’t tell him I said anything. I need to convey a message. I just haven’t yet. It’s a weird topic to discuss with him.”
“Why are we discussing it?”
“Because I wanted to distract you from obsessing over my superior hotness.”
He grunts, and I grin victoriously.
When we arrive at the bowling alley, Fitz pays for our games and shoes.
“I could have paid.”
He struts toward the lanes, several steps in front of me. “You’re paying me back in other ways.”
I nearly trip over my own feet. “W-what?”
He stops, causing me to bump into him. “You’re paying for my plane ticket.”
“Plane ticket?”
“To Miami. I invited you to go bowling, so I’m paying. You invited me to be your emotional-support person this weekend, so you’re paying for my plane ticket.”
“I didn’t invite you.”
His gaze shifts to the side for a beat before he grunts a laugh and continues toward the lanes. “You did.”
I can’t take Fitz to Miami. That would be a disaster.
“Hey! You brought Jamie. I’m so glad,” Evette gushes, hugging Fitz and then pulling me in for a tight embrace, her wiry curls brushing my cheek.
“Do you have my back?” I murmur next to her ear.
“What?” She begins to pull away.
I grip her shoulders. “We don’t have much time. Just say you have my back.”
When I release her, she narrows her eyes and nods while straightening her camel-brown crisscross sweater that barely touches the top of her shapely hips.
I grin. “Can you two settle something for us?”
Gary sets his beer on the table and adjusts his black ball cap. “What’s that?”
“Who’s hotter? Fitz or me?” I pull back my shoulders and smile.
Gary sniggers, reaching for his bowling ball. “My wife’s here. I can’t answer that, even if she says Fitz, which she will.”
“No. I think Jamie is hotter,” Evette declares, eyeing me carefully to confirm she’s having my back.
I wink. “Thanks.” I blow her a kiss.
“Then I second that.” Gary gives me a resolute nod.
“Traitors,” Fitz grumbles.
I follow him to pick out a ball. “Well, that’s settled.”
“Don’t think I didn’t see you whispering in her ear.” He shoves his fingers into a ball and picks it up.
“That’s a little too much ball for you. Size down,” I say, picking out a pretty six-pound green ball with sparkles.
“I don’t know how to handle anything but big balls.”
“Stop,” I snort, returning to Gary and Evette.
“You started it,” he mutters behind me.
Gary and Fitz show their ultracompetitive sides for three rounds while Evette and I sip cheap wine and see who can have the longest streak of gutter balls.
“He’s pretty smitten.” Evette leans into me as the guys hover around the ball return.
“Who?”
She nudges me with her elbow. “Calvin, of course. Gary and I have never seen him like this.”
I squint. “Like what?”
“He can’t take his eyes off you. He couldn’t the night of the party, and . . .” She nudges me again to make sure I see Fitz making a glance in my direction as we speak. “We’ve never seen this side of Calvin. What have you done?”