Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She shrugs and is looking at the ground in front of her. “I’m not sure. I have a lot to think about.”
We’re both silent as we get to the truck and I help her into the passenger side. “I know my vote doesn’t really count, but I still want you to know that I want you to stay.”
She’s looking into my eyes, and again, I’m stopping myself from reaching for her. With a longing look at her lips, I take a step back and shut the door. I can feel her eyes on me as I walk around to my side of the truck. I get in and take off toward town without another word. We get to the intersection where I either turn to take her toward her mom’s house or stay straight to the garage when she finally starts to talk. “Would you care if I went to the garage for a while to work? I can walk home later.”
I press my foot on the gas so fast that both our heads jerk. “Honey, of course. The office is yours. And when you want to go home, I can take you.”
I wait for her to argue with me, but she just continues to look out the window. “Thanks, Dom.”
I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but it feels that she’s letting her guard down with me at least a little bit. I just have to make sure I don’t fuck it up.
13
LUCIANA
I was going to work from home today, but I found myself getting up, getting ready and going to Dom’s Garage. I told myself that I couldn’t get any work done at home with my mom giving me dirty looks, but the truth is, I wanted to see Dom.
And now as I sit in his office, eating pizza with him and his nephew, I’m happy I came in. My sides and my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard, and I can’t stop smiling.
“So has Dom told you about how Dad and I beat him and King at pickleball?” Cole holds his hands up wide. “And I don’t mean just beat them… I mean we annihilated them.”
Dom laughs as he wraps an arm around Cole and rubs his knuckles over his head. “Okay, okay, Lucy doesn’t want to hear about this.”
I stand up to clean our plates. “Oh no, I want to hear all about it.”
Cole escapes Dom’s arms and runs to hide behind me. “Yeah, we beat them, and Gabe and Dom both had meltdowns. They hate to lose. Dom even tried to bodyslam King, but King held him down and gave him noogies.”
Dom comes for Cole, and I’m caught in the middle as Cole pulls me to defend him. I put my hands on Dom’s chest, and I know he could easily move past me, but he just keeps playing as Cole runs out of the office.
It’s only when Cole’s laughter begins to fade as he runs to the bay of the garage that Dom and I realize how close we are. Our faces are inches apart, and we’re both breathing hard. We’re just looking into each other’s eyes, and without even thinking about it, I lean into him. His arms automatically go around me, and he pulls me against his hard chest. We stand together, my head resting on his chest and his chin resting on the top of my head.
“Dom! Mom’s here,” Cole hollers.
Dom sighs loudly, and I pull back, wishing the hug didn’t have to end. My hands slide down his chest and then I let them fall to my sides. “You should probably go out there.”
He holds his hand out to me. “Come on, I want you to meet Cat.”
I put my hand in his, and he threads our fingers together. As we walk out of the office, he’s staring at me and only takes his gaze off me when we get to Cole.
“Mom, this is Lucy,” Cole says.
I smile at the beautiful blond woman that is looking between Dom and me. I give her a little wave. “Hi, Cat. Dom’s told me all about you.”
She waves back. “And I’ve heard all about you. It’s great to finally meet you, Lucy. Are you staying in Whiskey Run long?”
It’s a loaded question, and by the way she’s looking at me, she knows it is. “I am. I actually accepted a job this morning.”
“You did? You didn’t tell me,” Dom exclaims with a big smile on his face.
I shrug, brushing the hair off my face and tucking it behind my ear. “You didn’t ask.”
He squeezes my hand that he’s still holding. “I didn’t want to pressure you.”
“Yes! Now you have to come play pickleball with us! You have to see Dom pout when he loses.”
“Uhhhh,” I stutter, not sure what to say.
Cat chimes in. “Yes, you do need to come. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen how competitive these guys get.”