Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
That made one of us.
I had a terrible, sinking feeling about all of this.
Chapter 14
Derek
“How much did you have to pay to get this beauty to agree to date you?” Brody’s amused voice boomed down the line as soon I answered his call. “Is she a model you convinced to take a photo without makeup or filters? You can tell me.”
I laughed and shook my head because my agent was such a damn character most of the time. “Nope. She’s a real woman, normal as requested. And she’s my next door neighbor.”
“The literal girl next door,” he mused. “I should have known you would come through. You never do anything half assed.”
“Thanks?”
Brody laughed again. “Okay, tell me about her. What does she do for a living?”
“She owns and runs a farm.”
“A farmer! Holy shit, like an actual farmer with a hoe and a plow?” Brody’s laughter bordered on obnoxious, but I stood in my kitchen and accepted his ribbing in the spirit in which it was given. “Only you could cast a net and find the hottest farm chick to ever live. Don’t screw it up.”
“I don’t plan to, but your confidence in me is inspiring.”
“I have every confidence in you Derek, but I also know you. No matter who this chick is, you will find a way to make sure she doesn’t get attached.”
“No worries on that front,” I mumbled angrily. “She hates my guts.”
Brody laughed even harder at that. “This is going to be so good! Still, don’t screw it up. I need to see three dates posted on social media in the next seven days, and don’t fly her to Paris or some crazy shit like that. Take her to a dive bar or the movies, or whatever people in the boonies do for fun.”
“You know you just insulted the majority of our fan base, don’t you?”
Brody scoffed. “I love people in the boonies, it’s the boonies that I take issue with, damn places always make me feel like I’m stuck in a horror movie.”
“What I’m hearing is, that you’re scared of trees and birds, and pretty much just nature in general.”
“And not ashamed of it,” he shot back with another bark of laughter.
“How did the video go over?” Lacey and Levi had stopped by two days ago, and we shot the apology video. It was funny, and Lacey gave me just enough shit to be endearing to the fans. At least I thought so.
Brody sighed, and I couldn’t tell if it was a good sigh or if he was rubbing his temples in frustration. “Lots of fans are ready to forgive you. They still agree the joke was in poor taste, but lucky for you, plenty of them have annoying siblings, so they get what you were doing. It’s a good start Derek, but the label wants you to do more to dig TGB out of this hole.”
“So make these dates count?”
“See, I knew you were more than just a pretty face.”
“Damn straight,” I shot back before I got off the phone.
I had no plans to screw it up, despite what Brody and Bella thought, but I also understood their skepticism, even if I didn’t like it.
I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the front porch to suck down a few gulps of fresh, country air. I had to romance Bella in order to sell this. I had to sell this romance despite the distance I knew she would put between us, and despite the obstacles she erected to make sure I didn’t get too close. We would come out of this as friends, because it was inevitable, no matter how hard she fought it.
Time starts now, I told myself and jogged down the front steps to make my way to York Farm. There was no time to waste, for either of us. So it was best to get the first date inked in the schedule before Bella had too much time to think about it.
“Aunt Bella isn’t around right now.” Everest glared at me when I walked up to where he helped Keri load gear into a golf cart.
Bella was almost always on the farm. “Where is she then?”
“In the barn. The vet is here. One of the sheep is pregnant.”
“A surprise sheep pregnancy? Weird.”
Everest softened towards me and laughed. “Anyway she’s in the barn for now, and I’m headed out to the meadow where the photographer is waiting.” Trey and his niece Keri got into the back of the golf cart, the remainder of their gear in the front seat next to the kid.
“I’m just unpaid labor,” Keri piped in from her spot behind Everest. “You know what I’m saying, don’t you?”
Everest shrugged. “I volunteered to do this job.”
“Be more like Everest,” Trey said to her with a hint of amusement.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”