Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“I know that was hard for you. It means a lot that you shared that with me.”
“Even though I made you cry?”
I smile at him, touching the side of his face. “What do you say we get out of this water and back into bed? I saw you got a frozen pizza in your grocery order. Let’s put that in the oven and watch a movie.”
He kisses me softly. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
We climb out of the water, and he wraps me in a fluffy towel. He holds my gaze as he fashions one around his waist.
No words are exchanged, but none are required.
Troy just trusted me. That says it all.
Chapter Sixteen
Troy
“Is this not the cutest place you’ve ever seen in your life?” Dahlia asks, climbing out of the car.
“I’m wowed.”
She gives me a look, warning me to play along.
“Look,” I say, shutting her car door for her, “I’d rather be at the house balls deep inside you. I’m sorry if this little village thing isn’t as impressive as your pussy. Sue me.”
She places her arms over my shoulders, her fingers dangling behind me. She lifts her chin and gazes wickedly into my eyes.
“If you play nice and pretend to be wowed,” she says, biting her lip. “I’ll wow you when we get back.”
I push my cock into her. “I’m ready.”
“How do you get hard that fast?” She laughs.
“Says the woman who gets wet at the drop of a hat.”
I reach between her legs, but she swats my hand away, laughing harder. “Stop it.”
“Why?” I pull her to me, nuzzling the crook of her neck. “Are you wet for me?”
She groans as I press kisses behind her ear. “You don’t play fair.”
“Is that a yes then?”
“Yes,” she says, shoving me away. Her smile stretches across her pretty face. “I’m wet for you. I’m breathing, aren’t I?”
“God, you turn me on.”
She takes my hand, and I reluctantly follow.
I’ll never admit it to her, but the town is cute. It looks like something from a movie set. Granted, it would be a Christmas movie with a yuppie with a bad haircut and a baker who wants to save the town’s Christmas tree farm—but a movie all the same.
Every building is crafted to the smallest detail. The roads are meticulous, the shops are charming, and the landscaping is so fastidiously maintained that it almost doesn’t look real.
“Thank you for bringing me here, even though I know it’s killing you,” she says, leading me onto a sidewalk.
“If someone tries to kill you, maybe they’ll shoot me first and put me out of my misery.”
She gasps. “Not funny.”
“It’s funny when you joke about it.”
“Because I’m the intended victim.”
“Not in my scenario.”
“Shut up,” she says, pausing in front of an old-fashioned ice cream shop. “Is that not adorable?”
“It looks like a dollhouse.”
“The dollhouse of my dreams.” She looks at me. “They boast forty-eight handcrafted flavors. How do you come up with forty-eight flavors that aren’t redundant?”
“Easy. Work through the vanilla variations, then the chocolate ones. Toss a pistachio in there, a buttered pecan. That’s a personal favorite,” I say as we move along down the sidewalk. “You can’t forget the coffee flavor, and a classic bubble gum. There’s mint and cheesecake. What about red velvet cake?”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“What? You asked,” I say.
“Sometimes, I can’t get a word out of you. Other times, you surprise me with the strangest rambles.”
“I like ice cream, okay?”
“Noted. Hey, there’s a bookstore. Should we drop in and take a look?”
“I’ll never say no to a good bookstore.”
We cross the mostly vacant street thanks to the weather. The sky is dreary, threatening to drop bucket loads of water on our heads at any moment. It’s the only reason I gave in to her request to visit the shopping center. I didn’t think anyone else would be dumb enough to be out.
“Hang on,” I say, digging my phone out of my pocket. I look at the screen. “It’s Ford.”
“Take it. I’ll wait.”
I kiss her forehead and answer the call. “Castelli.”
“Hey,” he says, his words clipped. “I have news.”
My stomach tightens. I try to remain passive and not put Dahlia on edge.
“Shoot,” I say.
“Dahlia’s ex-boyfriend, Freddy, was arrested last night.”
“Really? Why?”
“What’s going on?” Dahlia asks, stepping to me. “I can see it on your face.”
Dammit.
“Can she hear me?” Ford asks. “Can you put her on speakerphone?”
I look around and spot an empty grass lot next to the bookstore. “Hang on a second.”
Dahlia follows me across the street away from the sidewalk. There’s not a soul around, so I press the speaker button.
“Okay,” I say. “She can hear you.”
“Hi, Ford,” Dahlia says.
“Hey. So Freddy was arrested last night.”
Her eyes widen. “Why?”
Ford blows out a breath. “He beat up your neighbor, Burt.”
“What?”
“Shhh …” I say, making sure no one overheard her.
“Oh, my God. He beat up Burt?” She takes my phone from me and holds it to her mouth. “Is he okay? What the hell happened?”