Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“My calendar is full,” she says to him, “but I have your business card, and if something opens up, you are the first one on the list.”
“That’s what they all say.” He shakes his head and takes a sip of his bourbon. “But you, girlie, I believe you.”
“She doesn’t lie,” I cut in to the conversation. “Not even a white lie.”
“You need to convince her to come work for me,” he urges, and I shake my head.
“Not a chance in hell I’m letting this one out of my sight.”
“I thought she wasn’t your girl.”
“She’s not my girl.” I turn to her and wink. “She’s her own girl, but she’s also my employee, so technically, she’s mine.”
“Smart man,” he says and walks away.
“Nice save.” She looks at me and takes a sip of her drink. “Also, I am my own girl.”
“Do you want to sit?” I ask, pointing at an empty table in the back. Two cushioned chairs face a small round table.
“Sure.” She walks away from me toward the table. She sits down on one of the cushions, and I sit next to her, but I move the table farther away from us so I can scoot my chair closer to her.
“I don’t want this night to end,” I admit as I take a sip of my scotch, putting my ankle on my knee.
“It has to end sometime,” she says softly as she puts her purse on the table in front of her but leans back into the cushion, looking at me.
“Does it?” I ask. I would make a deal with the devil not to have this night end and we both stay exactly where we are.
“Yes, yes, it does.” She turns a little toward me.
“What would your boyfriend say if he knew you were here with me?” Every single time I mention this guy, I hate him more and more, and I’ve never even fucking met him. But I know I’m jealous he’s had her for the past two years.
“One.” She takes a sip of her drink, and I see she’s a bit nervous. “He’s not technically my boyfriend. We are still trying to figure things out.” Even though she’s saying the words, she’s not convinced of it. I give her a minute to take another sip of her drink. “I mean, I know what I want, but after two years, you would think he would have it figured out already.”
I look into her eyes, the promises unspoken. “What do you want?” I ask her the loaded question. I wait, my heart hammering in my chest, my tongue heavy in my mouth to promise to give her everything she has ever wanted even though I don’t know what that is.
“I don’t really know.” She finishes her drink and leans forward to put the empty glass on the table in front of her. “No, forget that,” she quickly adds. “I know exactly what I want. I want the whole fucking thing.” Her hands are animated when she’s talking, and I want to take one of them and hold it in mine after I kiss it to get her to relax. “I want to marry a man who has my back and supports my career. A man who is proud of me and who I’m proud of. A house with a white picket fence”—she rolls her eyes—“which sounds dumb.”
“It doesn’t sound dumb,” I say softly, taking a gulp of my scotch, but she doesn’t even hear me. She just continues talking.
“I want two point five kids.” I roll my lips to stop laughing at her, knowing she would probably glare at me, but with all my drinks, it escapes me, and she glares at me.
“Baby, you can’t have two point five kids.”
“I mean, I want to have two kids and be pregnant with another. And you know what?”
“I’m all ears.” I reach out my hand and put it on her leg, expecting her to toss it off, but she’s so worked up over this that she either doesn’t notice or is okay with it.
“When I have kids, I want to be a stay-at-home wife. I want to put my career on the back burner while I become the PTA president or whatever it is they are called. I want to go on field trips and drive them to school and pick them up. I want to be there when they have horrible days because a kid was being mean to them, and I’m not too afraid to say I’ll go toe-to-toe with their mother if they pick on my kids.” She’s so fucking gorgeous that I can’t say a word. “I want to be there when they have the best day and have them tell me all about it. I want to do all of those things. That’s what I want. I also want a man who will be okay with me staying home and doing that and not look down at it, thinking it’s going to be a walk in the park. I want a healthy sex life.” She shrugs. “You know, the basics.”