Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“So we save that for a couple of months?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see how this friendship thing works out.” She shrugged. “So far, so good.”
“Good.”
She put the last item in the cart and they headed to the checkout. When Brice went to pay, she wouldn’t let him, using her card instead. “We’re friends. You don’t have to pay for me. I appreciate you taking me.”
“How about you cook me dinner?”
“You want me to cook you dinner now?”
“Why not? I get to see what all the fuss is about.”
She laughed.
“Fine. I’ll cook you dinner.” For the first time ever, she had actually had fun with a man. She didn’t date a lot, and the men she had been with … well, it hadn’t been for a commitment either.
Brice didn’t need to know that.
Chapter Three
News just in, is love really on the horizon or maybe even domestic bliss? One shopping trip and two cozy singletons, for how long exactly?
Two weeks later
Brice pulled up Danielle’s number and smiled. She had reluctantly given it to him after she cooked him dinner. He’d demanded it the moment they arrived at her country home. Her place was wonderful.
It was a large home, complete with a garden, pool, and other features. Her home was filled with memories. Pictures lined the wall, as did artwork, but for the most part, it was memories of her at different events, with her nanny, friends. He’d even noticed one with Howard and his wife.
She took him on a tour. The library was full of cookbooks and references. Her office was neat, and everything from the décor to the woman had a modern edge.
He liked it. The house screamed home.
Standing at his office window, he put the phone to his ear after he clicked dial.
“Are you missing me already?” she asked, sounding rather breathless.
“Have you been up to something naughty?”
“If you call rolling something stiff naughty, then sure.”
He couldn’t help but think of her hand wrapped around his own stiffness. For the past two weeks, every available moment he had, he’d been watching her old shows. He’d seen her first start out. How scared she’d been in front of the camera. That had soon changed, and she’d become comfortable in front of it.
It helped with the first appearance of Teresa.
He’d also gone to the bookstore and purchased her cookbooks. There were a lot of pictures, but he saw how personal they were. Each time, she left an acknowledgement to her nanny.
“I’m thinking really dirty thoughts right now.”
“I don’t think you should. We’re still at the new friends stage.”
“Well, when you say stiff, I think about everything else that can go stiff.”
“You really put that out there.”
He heard her moving around.
“Why did you call, Brice?”
“I have a function tomorrow night. I want to take you with me.”
“A function.”
“It’s a business dinner. A lot of talking, rubbing shoulders, that kind of thing.”
“You can’t take Sandy?”
He and Sandy were way over. According to the papers, she’d already moved on, and he had no problem with that. “No. Sandy and I are not in a real relationship. It was something casual that suited both of us. It’s not serious. I want to take you. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to,” Danielle said.
He laughed. “We all have to do things we don’t want. How about this, you go with me tomorrow night, and I will promise you that I will try anything you put in front of me without you even telling me first.”
She went silent over the line, and he didn’t know if she was still there.
“Do you have an allergy of some kind?”
“None.”
“Any foods you hate?”
“Not really.”
“Okay, consider it a deal, but if I struggle to stay awake, I want a week of you and your taste buds,” she said.
A week was more than fine with him and he told her so.
His PA buzzed him to let him know his latest appointment was ready to see him. “I’ve got to go. Got to do work.”
“Enjoy.”
“You too.” He hung up and moved behind his desk, smiling.
He’d noticed every single time he spoke to her, he found himself smiling. It was odd to feel that way, but she made it impossible for him to not.
“That’s a crazy look you’re sporting there,” Howard said, walking into the room.
“I’m … happy.”
“You sound shocked by that.”
“Usually when I pursue a woman, I don’t feel so happy about it. I get bored.”
“What’s so different about this woman?” Howard asked, taking a seat in front of his desk.
“She’s not falling for me. Not one bit. We’re friends.”
“Do I know this woman?”
“Yes.”
“Model?”
“No.”
“Actress?”
“No.”
“I’m out of ideas.”
“Keep going.” Brice sat back, waiting.
“Heiress?”
He thought about the Knox empire and nodded.
“So an heiress that is neither an actress or a model. I also know her. Is she in the limelight at all?”
“Yes.”
“You’re dating Danielle. It’s the only woman I have seen you be interested in. I saw you at the charity event. What was that, two weeks ago?”