Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 114211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Another face squeezes into the screen. “Hey, guys! Did she tell you?” comes Pete, completely shattering the sentimental mood. “I’m gonna have myself a daddy’s little girl!”
Bridger throws an arm around me, bringing himself closer. “I always knew you’d be a girl dad,” he tells Pete with a smile. “I bet your next one will be a girl, too. I’d put money on it.”
Juni’s face comes back into focus. “Next one?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Pete says right back to his pal. “One at a time, one at a time. I’ve only now gotten my parents comfortable with the idea of a pregnant fiancée …”
Juni leans forward so far, her lips nearly kiss the screen. “She wasn’t planned,” she whispers, pointing at her belly.
“Our timing is terrible,” agrees Pete, bringing his face next to hers. “She’ll probably be delivering on our honeymoon. Due date’s barely a month after. Are we sure we really wanna do this?” he asks suddenly, turning to Juni. “It ain’t too late to postpone.”
“Are you crazy? Your family’s schedules probably won’t align again until next summer or next year or maybe not until the year 3000. We’ll never get married if we postpone.”
Pete winces at her, then kisses her cheek. “Of course, honey.”
“I love when you call me honey.” She gives him a peck right back. “Oh, you smell good. Is that your aftershave? Or—”
Then suddenly they’re making out.
The phone drops somewhere. Neither of them seem to notice.
A spanking sound pops the speaker on my phone.
Pete’s whimper. Juni muttering something that sounds like, “Good boy.” Then Pete mumbling, “Looks like Indiana Jones just found himself a new treasure.” Another smacking noise. Or maybe they’ve gone back to making out. Then a gasp.
Alright, I hang up and spare ourselves the show. Bridger and I exchange a look. “You think they’ll last eight years?” I ask.
Bridger only chuckles for an answer.
Then I ask, “Do you think we’ll last eight years?”
He was about to go for another sip of his smoothie, then lowers it, gazing into my eyes thoughtfully. I love how he listens to me so completely, then gives his answers some consideration before he delivers them.
“Well, I suppose that just might depend entirely on how many points I score with your mom and dad tonight.”
I smirk. “Really?”
“Every dinner, I try to win a little more, bit by bit.”
I don’t know why Bridger still thinks he hasn’t won over my parents. They invite us over to their house for dinner almost every Thursday, sometimes Sundays too, and it’s more than obvious that the pair of them are infatuated with him.
“My dad’s already tryin’ to get you to join his business if the ‘medical thing don’t work out’ … in his words,” I remind him. “He would never do that if he didn’t like you.”
“I want him to more than like me. I want him to trust me.”
“Trust you with what?”
“You.”
I meet his eyes, setting down my nearly-empty smoothie. He seems so different today. More confident than usual. Emboldened, like he’s sitting on top of the world. At first I just chalked it up to him having a great jog with me. But something else is going on.
It’s also possible he’s just ready to go back home and have sex.
Our sex drive hasn’t weakened at all over the past six months. Not one bit. It’s goddamned multiplied, in truth.
“I want him to trust me with you,” Bridger goes on. “With his son. I want your parents to trust me with taking care of their son, who has given my life a purpose, who has given me focus when I thought I was lost …”
“That’s what you’ve done for me,” I cut him off to say. “I’m the one who was lost, Bridger, drinkin’ myself to death every day … ‘til you came into my life and ruined the fun.”
Bridger chuckles, his arm around my back, his face close. “We both have done each other quite a lot of good. I just …” His eyes drop to my lips. “I just want to make sure your parents know my intentions. I want them to know I’ll be by your side. For good. And I want you by mine, right next to me, every day, no matter what happens, no matter what knocks us on our asses in life.”
“The hell’s this all comin’ from?” I blurt out, unable to help myself. “Somethin’ is gonna knock us on our asses?”
“Something always can. Can’t stop trouble from finding you. Life has a way of doing that to the best of us. But no matter what, I’m sticking by you. That’s my life’s plan.”
I guess this isn’t totally out of the blue.
Bridger has been making every effort under the sun to prove his love for me ever since moving here. He never talks over me. He never dismisses what I say. He values my opinion in every decision he makes, even in deciding to enroll at Fairview Community this semester to continue his medical studies, utilizing his experience as an Army medic trained in emergency response and care. There ain’t a damned thing he doesn’t do without including me.