Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Her remark gets me wondering where Jack and I would be by now if we weren’t roommates. Would this be a relationship? Exclusive? Bring me home to Mum? From the guy who doesn’t do long-term commitments, it’s hard to picture that changing.
“I’m impressed by your stealth,” she says. “Lee is a bloodhound for those kinds of shenanigans. You two must be pretty clever for him not to have noticed.”
“Assuming he hasn’t.”
“Trust me. He wouldn’t keep it to himself.”
Fair point.
“So who’s the third point in this triangle? Have we been galivanting about the city with a certain Lord Tulley?”
I crack a smile. “Absolutely not.” Though the truth is harder to get out. “It’s, ah, Nate.”
Celeste rocks back in her chair. “Oh.”
Yeah, I expected that.
“He and I sort of hooked up. After he broke up with Yvonne,” I quickly qualify.
“She’s still in bits over him, you know.”
Guilt pricks at my gut. “Really?”
“I tried to get her out of her flat during the holidays, but she wasn’t having it. I think she’s been in the same pair of sweats every night for a month.”
“I had no idea she was so into him. Like am I crazy, because they never seemed…”
“That’s just how she is. Yvonne was mad about him. She’s devastated.”
Well, now I feel like shit.
But…ugh. How much loyalty do I even owe Yvonne? I don’t know her at all. We’re not friends, and she hasn’t gone out of her way to try to change that.
“Should I…” I trail off, biting my lip.
“Take her to coffee and tell her you charmed her boyfriend out from under her?” Celeste supplies. “No. I can’t picture her reacting well to that. Best to keep that information to yourself.”
I study Celeste’s face, but her expression is unreadable. “Are you going to tell her?” If I should be sleeping with one eye open, I’d like to know.
“I don’t want to be in the middle of it.”
To be honest, neither do I.
Celeste sighs. “And if I’m being entirely truthful, it was quite obvious to everyone but Yvonne that Nate wasn’t in love with her.” She pauses. “So who do we like more? Nate or Jack?”
“That’s the thing. If I knew, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Physically, they’re both attractive, so there’s no clear winner there. Personality-wise… well, Jack’s fun, you know? Easy. We can be silly together. Nate makes me feel more grown-up. He’s challenging. Adventurous.”
“Can’t get much different than those two.” She flashes a cheeky grin. “Who’s the better shag?”
My cheeks heat up. “They’re both very skilled in the sexy-times department.”
“Well, this is a real conundrum then.”
“I know.” I blow out a frazzled breath. “And then, on the other hand, I don’t know if there’s a point in obsessing over any of this. Nate hasn’t once asked me to be exclusive. And there’s Jack, who said he was going to prove to me that he’s serious after jerking me around a few times. I promised him I’d be patient, but he still hasn’t made his intentions clear, so I don’t know what this is. What we are.”
My frustrated groan echoes between us.
“Piece of advice.” She holds out her glass to the waiter when he comes by to top us up. “You’re a beautiful, powerful, intelligent woman. You don’t have time for silly little boys who can’t make up their minds. Why should you settle for just one, be forced to choose, when you don’t even know what you’re choosing?”
She’s not wrong. Neither of them has told me what they want out of this. A girlfriend? A friend with benefits? A fleeting fling?
How can I choose between them when I don’t even know what they want?
Those questions haunt me for the rest of the evening, making it difficult to concentrate on the assigned reading for my European history class. It doesn’t help that both Jack and Nate text within seconds of each other.
Jack: Match is over. We murdered them. Grabbing a bite and pints with the lads at the Red Fiddle if you fancy joining us. If not, I’ll sneak into your room later?
Nate: Come over to mine? I’ll be off early tonight. Around ten.
I groan out loud. God. Why can’t I just choose already? I don’t want to be sitting here trying to decide which guy I’d like to fool around with tonight. That’s not me.
When I see Ben Tulley’s name light up my phone screen, I answer on the first ring, desperate for an effective distraction.
“Abbey, darling. How are you?”
“Excellent. How’s the weather in Ibiza?”
“Sweltering. And quite past its expiration. I’m home now. Back in dreary London.”
“My condolences.”
“One can’t linger long in air he can’t see. Lest we lose our stamina.”
“I’ll try to remember that. So. To what do I owe this honor, Lord Tulley?”
He chuckles. “I’m calling because I’ve some boxes here cluttering my drawing room and I wondered if you might fancy a peek inside.”