Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“A hundred squats a day,” he informed her as if reading her mind as he carefully maneuvered his bulk and his cargo out her front door.
“What?” she asked, trying to pretend she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
“You’re really going to pretend you weren’t ogling my ass?” he growled after setting her down next to the truck he’d rented for the weekend.
“Um…”
“That’s what I thought. You always were a good Little girl. You never lied to me.”
“I had a feeling you’d spank me if I did,” she pointed out as he opened the door.
“You’re right. Here, let me help you. It’s a big step,” Colt said, boosting her easily up to the passenger seat with an enormous hand on her bottom. He gave her an extra pat before she settled into place. “I will enjoy spanking you.”
“You say that like you’ll be around to catch me lying. This is just pretend for the weekend, Colt. I’m not expecting you to be my real boyfriend. You’ll have to go back to Nashville.”
“The only person who thinks this is a ruse is you. I’m done neglecting our relationship. I should have come back a long time ago.”
“You’ve made a lot of people happy with your songs,” Harper countered.
“I have. I plan to continue to please my fans, but there are other things more important than music now.”
“Me?” she squeaked.
“You.” Colt winked at her and stepped back to close the truck door as Harper stared at him.
Could this really be happening?
CHAPTER 8
“Are you going to finish that?” Colt eyed the giant cinnamon roll Harper had ordered. He’d already had several bites throughout breakfast. With Colt, Harper had never worried about being judged for her order at a restaurant or how much she ate. His intake always overshadowed even her largest meal. All that bulk Colt had built required a ton of food.
“No way. Eat it for me,” she requested, passing the plate over to him.
“Thanks. This reminds me of the cinnamon rolls they used to have in elementary school before all the rules evolved about calories, salt, and sugar. Mrs. Elaine always gave me an extra one because I was a growing boy.”
“You definitely were a growing boy,” Harper agreed.
“I wonder if she’s still alive.”
“She seemed so old back then, didn’t she? Elaine is in town. She’s in her seventies now, so she would have been in her forties when she worked in the schools,” Harper shared. “That doesn’t seem so old now—to be in your forties.”
“It sounds younger every day,” Colt answered, popping the last bite of the treat into his mouth.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” Tina, their sweet waitress who’d taken excellent care of them, asked.
“I think I’m stuffed. Just the check, please,” Colt requested with a smile.
“Mr. Ziegler? Are you here for a concert somewhere?” the server asked.
“No concert in Avondale. I’m here visiting my girl,” Colt explained.
“Hi.” Tina waved awkwardly at Harper. “You’re very lucky.”
“Hi! I know,” Harper said softly.
“There are two lucky people at this table,” Colt corrected.
“Is there any way I could get your signature?” Tina asked.
Harper could see several people listening carefully to the conversation. Were all of them going to mob him? She hadn’t considered that Colt wouldn’t even be able to go out to a meal without running into fans.
“I’m going to be in town so much you’ll get sick of me. I’m just an old Avondale Dragon,” he answered smoothly as he handed her his credit card.
“I went there, too,” Tina rushed to assure him.
When Colt just smiled, Tina hesitated for a minute before running to the credit card machine to run his card. When she returned, Colt signed the slip, adding a healthy tip. He flipped over his copy of the receipt and wrote something before tucking both under his empty plate.
“You ready, Angel?”
“Sure.” Harper pushed her chair back to stand and found Colt behind her, gallantly assisting her.
When they exited the diner, he opened the door for her and wrapped his arm around her waist to guide her down the street. Whispers followed them as everyone recognized the Avondale kid who made it big. Harper felt uncomfortable with all those eyes on her. She shifted slightly away from him.
“It’s going to be okay, Harper. They’re excited to see me now. In a month, they’ll be tired of my face,” Colt assured her.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Harper said before glimpsing hurricane Miranda aimed at them. “Incoming.”
Colt immediately tensed and moved in front of her as he scanned for a threat. Tears prickled in Harper’s eyes at the thought that this was his life—always having to be on alert and ready.
She laid a hand on his back and whispered, “It’s just Miranda.”
“Hi, Colt. Harper,” Miranda greeted them with markedly different levels of excitement when saying their names.