Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Some people believed that to know someone you had to walk in their shoes or have known them a lifetime. In two weeks, he knew Annie was a loving, sweet, kind person. He had a feeling she had been hurt in the past, quite hard, and by Tara’s parents. That he was pretty certain was the case. She was so protective of Tara, almost afraid of messing her up, which was incredibly sad. He wanted to know the whole story, but he didn’t like to press too hard. She was so focused on being the best mother, although she didn’t call Tara her baby, or refer to herself as a mother.
Annie sighed. “I’m sorry. I know you told me not to wake her up, but I was worried. I couldn’t hear her breathing.”
“I get it, I do,” he said, leaning up against the kitchen counter. “It’s tough being a parent.”
She laughed. “I don’t even know if I feel like a parent. I mean, doesn’t it feel different?”
“I have no idea. How do you feel?” he asked.
“Like I’m out of my depth. Like I don’t have the first clue what I’m doing.” She had poured the milk into the saucepan, and she reached into the cupboard, grabbing a small bag of chocolate chips.
He watched her move, trying to distract himself, and not pay attention to the curves of her ass, or think about the fact her nipples were pressed against the front of her crop top. He was here to do a job, not to admire this sexy woman, although that wasn’t hard to do.
“Most people feel that way with kids.”
“I doubt that. Don’t you think they’ve had time to, I don’t know, get used to the idea of actually having kids?” she asked.
“Yeah, they have, but it’s still a scary time for them. Trust me, you’re not on your own.”
Annie sighed. “Thank you.”
“You’re going to get this right.” He stepped toward her, put a hand on her back, and she pressed against him.
“You’re being so nice to me.”
He closed his eyes. She couldn’t see him and he gently breathed in deeply. Vanilla. It was his favorite smell. With them sharing her apartment, he already knew she bathed in vanilla scent, and even her perfume had a hint of vanilla.
She added a few other ingredients to the hot chocolate, and then moved to pour. He had no choice but to let her go so she could. Once she was done, she placed the saucepan in the sink and turned toward him, with a cup of hot chocolate in her hand.
He took it from her, wanting to say so many things, but instead, they walked back to her living room and took a seat. He blew across the surface of the hot chocolate before taking a sip.
“I hope your being here hasn’t upset your wife or your girlfriend,” she said.
“I’m not married and I’m not in a relationship. I’m single. So, no, I’m here and everything is fine.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Any boyfriend?”
“No, and certainly no husband.”
“I get the sense that Tara has a part in that.”
She sighed. “No, Tara doesn’t have a role in that. Her parents do. It’s complicated.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
She nibbled her lip and then turned toward him. “Tara’s mother was my best friend. Former best friend, and Tara’s father was my ex-fiancé.”
“Oh,” he said.
“Yes, oh. So, five years ago I was planning my dream wedding. My boyfriend had proposed to me the year before, and everything was going great.” She paused and took a sip of her hot chocolate. “I had gotten a text from my fiancé to meet him at a hotel, for a specific time. I was running late. I wasn’t always a full-time author. I worked two jobs while writing. I went to the hotel and he’d told me in the text what name to use. He didn’t realize he’d used the group text, neither had I, until I walked into the hotel room and saw him screwing my best friend.” She dropped her head. “Let’s just say that day ended a lot of things for us. I moved out of the house we shared, found this apartment, quit both of my jobs, and wrote, and wrote. I eventually got published, and I’m quite successful. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past five years.”
“Wow,” he said.
“Nah, there’s nothing ‘wow’ about it. Not really. I was so angry at them. I heard they got married on the day we were supposed to get married. She had the life I thought I wanted. I was in love with him, at least I thought I was. At first, I was angry, humiliated, upset, but I don’t know, now I’m just … I have no feelings.”
“Why does it terrify you with Tara?” he asked.