Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Getting into my car, I shut the door and watched her walk into her condo. Closing my eyes, I shook my head.
What in the hell are you doing, Preston?
Hitting my sister’s number on my cellphone, I waited for her to answer.
“PJ! Are you on your way?”
Just hearing my sister Angie’s voice caused me to smile. She was the only person to call me PJ. When she was a baby, Angie had a hard time saying “Preston.” My grandmother used to call me PJ, short for “Preston James,” when I was in trouble. Apparently, when Angie was growing up, I was in trouble a lot because she’d quickly caught on to PJ.
As I headed out on Comm Avenue, I felt a heaviness in my heart for some reason. “I’m on my way, Short Stack. I woke up late but I’m on my way.”
Hearing Angie squeal, I imagined her jumping up and down. “Mom said be careful driving but hurry up!”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay, see ya soon. I love you, PJ.”
“Love you, too, Angie.”
Hitting END, I tried to push back the uneasy feeling I had creeping up on me.
—
Walking down Newbury Street, I let out a frustrated sigh as I listened to my mother and Angie go on and on about how happy they were to have found a dress for the winter formal. Angie’s boyfriend attended a private school and had asked Angie to go to the dance with him.
Lacing her arm through mine, Angie looked up at me with those big green eyes of hers. “How about lunch now, big brother?”
Chuckling, I said, “Sounds good. I worked up an appetite watching you try on all those pretty dresses.”
Giving me a wink, Angie said, “So, Mom said you finally broke up with Sherry the snob.”
Dropping my mouth open, I glanced over at my mother. “Wow, news travels fast.”
Shrugging her shoulders, my mother said, “I won’t say I’m sad over this.”
Shaking my head, I looked ahead. “Did anyone other than me like Sherry at all?”
“Nope,” my mother and sister said at once.
“Oh, Preston! There is Papa Razzi—we haven’t been there in forever,” my mother said as she headed over to the restaurant.
Angie giggled. “Guess Mom wants Italian.”
“I guess so,” I said as Angie and I followed our mother into the Italian restaurant.
The waitress immediately began flirting with me as I did my best to ignore her. “Table for three?” she asked as she licked her bottom lip and eye-fucked the hell out of me. Nodding, I smiled politely and said, “Yes, ma’am. Table for three.”
Giving me a wink, the hostess said, “Follow me, then.”
Walking through the restaurant, it felt as if I was being watched. Setting the menus down on the table, the hostess blocked me from sitting down. Turning to me, she said, “You don’t remember me, do you, Preston?”
Glancing at my mother and sister before turning back to the hostess, I said, “Um, no, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“Cassie Sharp.”
The name didn’t ring a bell at all, and I was racking my brain trying to think if I had gone on a date with her before I started dating Sherry.
Letting out a nervous chuckle, I shook my head. Tilting her head and letting out a fake laugh, Cassie put her hand on my chest. “Mitchel’s sister. We met at his birthday party a few years back.”
Holy shit. Sharp’s baby sister. Looking her up and down, I was shocked at how much she had…grown up.
“Wow. Cassie Sharp. You certainly have grown up.”
My mother cleared her throat as my sister laughed.
Leaning in closer to me, she whispered, “In more ways than one.” Taking a step back, I gave her a weak smile.
“Right, well, I’ll be sure to let Mitchel know I ran into you.”
Picking up my hand, she wrote her number on the back and said, “Let’s not.”
Turning on her heels, Cassie headed back to the hostess station.
Shaking my head, I sat down at the table. My mother and Angie were both staring at me. “What?” I asked as I looked between them.
“Seriously? Do women just throw themselves at you like that all the time?” Angie asked. “I mean, yuck. That was gross.”
Laughing, I glanced around the restaurant and that was when I saw her.
Harmony.
She was staring at me. Once our eyes met, she gave me a small smile. Smiling back, I lifted my hand and waved to her. That’s when he turned around and I quickly dropped my hand and balled my fists.
Who was this guy? Was Harmony on a date? The guy gave me a good once-over before turning back and talking to Harmony. She smiled and let out a small chuckle as she shook her head.
What the fuck is that all about?
“Preston? Darling, what’s wrong?”
“PJ? Earth to PJ!”
Fingers snapped in front of my face as I forced myself to pull my eyes off Harmony and the mystery man.