Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Case closed.
And it was better for the both of us that it worked.
“Anyway, come on. Let’s get your salve on. We have to get going.”
“Get going?” I repeated, following her.
“Yeah,” she said, popping off my brace, and making even shorter work than usual of smearing on the salve. “I have a workshop,” she informed me as she pressed my brace against me again, then pulled the straps tight so she could secure them. “Come on,” she added, washing her hands quickly, then going toward the door, grabbing her purse and keys.
“What’s this?” I asked when we were in her van, gesturing down to the diner-style glass sugar shaker sitting in the cupholder between our two seats.
“Oh, those are native wildflower seeds,” she said, as if that explained it being there.
“For what purpose?”
“Helping the local pollinators. Bees are still dying, you know. It doesn’t make the news as much anymore, but they’re still dying. Whenever I go out and there are patches of grass on the side of the highway or those little trees they plant in the sidewalks with mulch around them, I always do a quick little sprinkle and hope for the best.”
She would.
That was just like her.
We drove out of Navesink Bank, heading more into the woods. And I had no idea where we were going.
I should have insisted on staying in her apartment.
But, to be honest, I was curious.
It wasn’t until I was already in the van and she was pulling away from the curb that I thought to ask for more details.
And by then, it was too late.
“What kind of workshop is it?” I asked.
I knew immediately from the way Billie tried to mask her smile by pressing her lips together that I probably wasn’t going to like the answer to that.
“A tantric sex workshop.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Billie
I swear the man couldn’t have looked more terrified if I told him he only had five minutes left to live.
Which was way more amusing than it should have been.
“I can stay in the car,” Rowe suggested as I pulled into the lot of the learning center.
It was a secluded dark wood cottage-style building that used to serve as an artist retreat before the previous owner passed. As such, it was surrounded by serene woods complete with its own trickling creek and a romantic gazebo half-covered in vining flowers.
They did weddings and family gatherings in addition to renting the space out to various classes. Like mine.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s hot,” I said, shaking my head as I climbed out. “Come on. I don’t want to be late,” I said, opening the sliding door of the van to grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and waiting for Rowe who was walking like he was heading to the gallows.
“It’s beautiful here,” I said, taking a deep breath, smelling the faint traces of honeysuckle and a hint of dying lilac in the air. “Reminds me a bit of Malc’s land.”
“Mine too,” Rowe mumbled, and I was sure I misheard him.
“Hm?”
“Malc’s land. He bought a chunk of my family’s land from my old man before my old man almost lost the place entirely. Kept him at the tracks for another couple years. That was my family land that Malc is on.”
“Wait,” I said, turning, looking up at him. “You live next to Malc?”
“Not exactly close to him. It’s a big chunk of land. But, yeah, essentially. Why?” he asked, frowning at what had to be a look of shock and confusion on my face.
Because, well, Malcolm’s land had always felt like home to me, if that made any sense. When I was there, it felt right.
I wasn’t someone who brushed off those kinds of feelings. I genuinely felt like the land could speak to us. It was why some people felt called to different countries or different states, like something in their bones knows that is where they belong.
I belonged on that land.
Only, it wasn’t exactly Malcolm’s land, was it?
It was Rowe’s.
I wanted to tell myself that it meant nothing. But I couldn’t shake the idea that it could actually mean a lot. Like the land spoke to me because I was supposed to be on it. With Rowe.
Only Rowe didn’t want me.
I want to make something very clear. You and me, we are never going to be a thing. So you need to stop trying. It’s getting sad.
“You okay?” Rowe asked, and I looked up to find him watching me with concern in his dark eyes.
“Yep!” I declared, lying through my teeth as I turned away from him to hide the sudden stinging sensation in my eyes that I knew would make my eyes glisten.
It was stupid.
Stupid.
That I couldn’t just get the hell over it.
I’d never felt stuck on a guy before. And I loved men. I’d loved men in the past. But even when those situations had gone south, I never felt like this, like I was unable to move forward. Sure, I’d been sad for a little while, but I was able to let it go, move on to the next guy.