Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“What’s up?” I wish she would stop eyeing me the way she is.
“What’s up with you? You’re acting weird.”
“Me? Weird, how?”
“Like, weird.”
“Hmmm, that’s weird.”
“Knock it off.”
“You knock it off—”
“Mindy—”
“We had sex.” Why did I just cave!
That shuts her up. She stares at me, her mouth hanging open. That’s probably not what she thought would be the reason for my “weirdness.” “I bet Theo sees this look a lot.” I moan while doing the blow-job hand movement. Her eyes squint. “No? Not funny?”
“You had—”
“Fay, your timer’s going off,” Theo interrupts, saving the day. “Mindy.”
“Hey, lover boy. Sorry I had to bring my pet. He’s mostly trained, though. I’m sure if you throw a bone, he’ll go fetch.”
Theo’s lips thin, not enjoying my humor. Geez, tough crowd. Fay shakes her head at me. I know she wants to continue this talk, but there’s no way she’ll let whatever dish she has in the oven burn.
“We’re not done talking about this.” She points to me and walks off into their enormous kitchen.
“Drink?” Theo asks.
“Is the sky blue?” I mean, when have I ever turned down a drink?
“Tate?” he asks, but Tate shakes his head. “Water’s fine.”
I look at him. “You can have a drink. Consider this your night off.”
“I don’t drink.”
Okay. “Why not?” He doesn’t respond. He gazes at me, his face blank, but his eyes tell a story. He doesn’t drink because of the night his girlfriend killed a man and he took the blame. My expression softens. “Oh… I’m sorry. I should have—I mean, it’s overrated anyway.” I’m an ass. I feel another set of eyes on me and spy Fay watching us both. “Well, today’s your lucky day. I’m sure Theo has some fancy carbonated water.”
“Or just a normal bottle of Acqua Panna. Here you go.” Theo hands Tate a bottle of water and me a glass of wine. “Why don’t we talk in my office? I’d like to get caught up on the case.”
Theo presses the sweetest kiss to Fay’s head, and the two men disappear down the hall into Theo’s office, leaving me open for attack.
“You!” Fay hisses, pointing her spatula at me.
“So, have you decided if you wanted the cream or white invi—?”
“No, you don’t. You don’t drop that bomb, then think we’re just gonna not talk about it. You slept with him?”
“I mean… sleeping isn’t really what we—”
“Mindy!”
“Jesus, don’t yell. Theo will hear you.”
“I thought you couldn’t stand him?”
“Well…it turns out I can.” She raises her hand, threatening to whip me. “Fine. I couldn’t stand him, but he grew on me. Then grew in me—shit! Dude, that hurt.”
“It’s gonna hurt a lot more if you don’t spill. Everything.”
I’m going to need to chug my wine for this one. “There’s not much to—okay. Put that thing down.” When did my best friend get so violent?
“I want every single detail.”
“Fine.” Clearly not getting out of this, I take a big girl swig of my wine and spill. “I threw myself at him after a long shift at Bev’s…” I go on to tell her every filthy detail. By the time I’m done, she’s refilling our glasses for the third time.
“Wow. I get why you smoke now.”
“I quit, remember?”
“That’s too bad. I’d ask to bum one.”
“Right?”
She stares off into space and shakes her head. “I kind of don’t know what to say.”
“Say nothing. It’s not a big deal. Once they catch this loser, he’ll be gone. We’re just having fun.” I hate that the words come out strained. As if they hurt to say.
“You sure about that?”
“That he’ll be gone? Yeah. He can’t babysit me forever. How much are you two paying him anyhow?”
“No, that it’s not a big deal. I just listened to you gush about a guy.”
I scoff and purse my lips. “I did not.”
“Did too. I’ve never seen you gush.”
“Maybe you just don’t know what my gush face looks like.”
“Well, I do now.” She smirks and takes a sip of her wine. “I can’t believe you.”
“Stop smirking. It causes wrinkles. And whatever, just don’t tell Theo. He’ll probably go all CEO and fire him.”
Fay nods. “He wouldn’t be happy. Not to burst your little sex bubble, but it’s unprofessional. He’s not there to pleasure you; he’s there to protect you.”
I scoff. “Okay, kettle black. Anyway, he is—protecting my hungry sex drive from starvation.” We both burst into laughter. “Look, I know it looks bad. But… it feels right. I don’t know how to explain it. He is doing his job. He makes me feel safe. And I’ve been alone for so long, I forgot how good it feels. His presence. Knowing he’s there for only me. When he’s close, when we’re…” The mental image of us entangled around one another sends a rush of butterflies swarming in my belly. “It’s so natural, like we’ve been doing it forever.” I sip my wine, visualizing him, his hands, his mouth. “I catch him looking at me sometimes. He always wears this blank face around as part of his armor. But I see things. Like, I can see past his bravado. And I think he feels the same way.” I shake my head. “I know I’m being silly—”