Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Marcus crossed the kitchen and took a seat at the table, and I joined him and poured the tea into a pair of mismatched mugs. Mine was decorated with a picture of one of the casinos—though we’d actually gotten it at a garage sale—and his was something the bar’s liquor distributor had given us. I started to hand it to him, but then I muttered, “Oops, that one has a chip in it,” and gave him the other one instead. Since he was wearing a suit that clearly cost thousands of dollars, I had to wonder what he thought of this funky apartment. He seemed pretty comfortable, though.
When I shook a couple of Advil into my hand, he glanced at me and asked, “How do you feel?”
“Not great, but I’ll live.”
“Do you have to work today?”
“No. Whenever we encounter something that’s considered a traumatic incident while on the job, a whole protocol kicks in. The first step was meeting with my supervisor last night. He dragged himself out of bed at one a.m., after my partner called and told him what happened. I was given a mandatory week off, which is company policy, and I’ll have to meet with a counselor before I’ll be allowed to go back to work.”
I washed the pills down with some tea before adding, “Obviously, dispatch would never knowingly send an EMT on a call involving a family member. But no one knew what I was walking into last night, including me.”
“I see.”
“Can I ask what you do? It seems I did most of the talking last night.”
He paused for a moment before answering. “A few different things. Lately, I’ve been putting in a lot of time as the executor of my mentor’s estate.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It’s been almost two years since he died. He left quite a few loose ends though, so it’s taking some time.”
“Can I ask what happened?”
“Cancer. He was seventy-four, and he knew the end was coming for months. It gave him time to tell me exactly what he wanted me to do after he passed.”
“It’s nice of you to put so much time into carrying out his instructions.”
He broke eye contact, and after a pause, he said, “Actually, he was the closest thing to a father I had, and I owe him. He had my back when nobody else did. He also left me a fortune. I’ve been trying to honor his wishes, but…sometimes I don’t know if I can do all he asked of me.”
There was a lot of emotion behind those words, and I said, “I’m sure you’re doing your best.” That seemed trite and unhelpful, but I didn’t know what else to say.
“I shouldn’t even be talking about this. You’re the one who just suffered a loss.”
“But I appreciate you opening up to me.”
“You’re really easy to talk to,” he muttered.
“So are you.” After a pause, I said, “Since I have some unexpected time off, I think I’ll drive to the coast and spend a couple of days in Southern California. I could use a change of scenery, and the thought of being by the ocean seems…I don’t know. Soothing, I guess.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
“Would you like to come with me?” I just had to ask. I’d never forgive myself if I let this gorgeous man walk right back out of my life. To try to convince him, I added, “It seems like you’ve been dealing with some pretty intense stuff, so maybe you could use a break, too.”
He seemed surprised. “Wouldn’t you want to ask a friend to go with you?”
“I just did. I know we just met, but I like you, Marcus, and I really want to get to know you. This would give us the perfect opportunity.”
He held my gaze for a long moment. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind, but finally he said, “I’ll come along on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You let me pay for everything.”
“Can I ask why?”
“I just don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“You wouldn’t be. But if that’s important to you, then sure.”
“There’s also something I need to say up front.” Marcus seemed to choose his words carefully. “I can’t promise you anything beyond these next few days, Romy.”
“I know, and it’s fine.” That didn’t surprise me. Neither of us knew where this was going to go, so he really didn’t have to worry about leading me on.
After breakfast, we made plans for him to pick me up at my apartment in an hour, so we’d both have time to pack a bag. I walked him downstairs, and he said, “See you soon,” before heading out the door.
As I watched him get in his car and drive away, an insecure little part of me wondered if I’d ever see him again. Maybe all of this had been painfully awkward for him, and maybe he’d instantly regretted agreeing to spend the next couple of days with me. After all, I was just some random guy he’d met a few hours ago, and I’d spent most of that time either drunk or asleep.