Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Spill,” Ramsey urges.
“We drove to Harris and had dinner at this cute little pizza place I’d never been to. Then we went to the movies, and after we went to Sunflower Park and there was an ice cream truck there. We sat at one of the picnic tables and just talked for over an hour.”
I’m so proud of myself that I’m able to keep my composure when she mentions Sunflower Park. I will never be able to go there or even hear about that place and not think of Brooks. Here I am two full weeks later, and I’m still thinking and obsessing over the time I got to spend with him.
Every. Single. Second.
“Tell them the rest,” Jade says.
“He dropped to one knee, holding up a sunflower to me. My heart stopped, but his teasing smile told me it wasn’t going to be a marriage proposal. He asked me to be his, and I said yes.”
“You picked him,” Ramsey says, sitting back in the booth.
My arm falls from her shoulders, and I wring my hands together under the table. I think I know where my best friend is going with this. She and I had a very similar conversation.
“What?” Piper asks, raising her eyebrows in confusion.
“The night Deacon proposed.” Ramsey holds up her hand and wiggles her fingers, making her engagement ring sparkle even in the low light of the tavern.
“I picked him?” Piper asks to clarify.
“Yes. You were all staring, and I told you to pick. Jade picked Orrin, and we know how that’s working out. You said Heath, even though the two of you had already been on a date, you still picked him.” She turns to face me. “Palmer picked Brooks.”
“That’s right.” Jade laughs. “I got my man, you two got yours.” She points at Piper and Ramsey. “You”—she points to me— “have some catching up to do.”
“She’s right.” Piper keeps her eyes trained on me. “What about you, little sister?”
“What about me?” Deny. Deny. Deny.
“You picked Brooks,” Piper reminds me, as if I need a reminder.
“We were all just talking. Rams insisted I pick.” I shrug. “So I picked.”
Ramsey turns in the booth to face me. I finish off my drink and turn to look at her head-on. My features are schooled. “So,” she says dramatically, “you’re telling me that if Brooks walked in here right now and asked you to dance or hell, get out of here with him, you’d turn him down?”
I open my mouth to reject her claim but quickly close it. “No. I wouldn’t turn him down,” I confess.
“That doesn’t count as your confession.” Piper calls me out. “We all already knew that. You have to give us something else.”
“Seriously?” I ask her.
My sister smirks. “Yep.”
“I’ll go next to give you some time,” Jade volunteers. She takes a drink of her cocktail and then blurts out her confession. “We had unprotected sex.”
“Are you on the pill?” Ramsey asks her.
“Yes, but still.”
“Orrin is solid,” I tell Jade. “He’s a stand-up guy. If you were to ever get knocked up, he’d be there.”
“He’d drag you down the aisle.” Ramsey laughs. “I’ve never seen Orrin with anyone the way he is with you.”
Jade’s eyes mist with tears. “I just… I don’t want to lose him.”
“You won’t.” Ramsey reaches across the table and places her hand over Jade’s. “He’s in this with you, Jade. I promise you. If you’re worried, talk to him.”
“I will. Thanks.” She picks up her drink and downs it.
“Sister.” Piper raises her eyebrows at me.
“Fine. I’ve never been able to orgasm with oral sex.” I roll my eyes because they made me give them something.
“He’s doing it wrong,” a deep masculine voice says from beside our table.
I don’t turn to look. I don’t need to. I know that voice. I’ve spent the last two weeks thinking of nothing but the man it belongs to. I lift my glass for another drink, but it’s empty.
Shit.
“I need a refill. Anyone else?” I ask, sliding out of the booth and ignoring the fact that Brooks, my brother, and Orrin are all standing there.
Right. There.
My face is hot. The need to flee is strong. “No? Good. I’ll be back.” I turn on my heel and make my way to the bar. I stand here forever waiting to be served, but part of that could be that I’m scrolling on my phone and not making eye contact. I’m also not looking at a damn thing on my phone. I can’t focus. My mind is fuzzy. I never wanted Brooks or Orrin to hear that about me. And my brother… Nope. I’m not thinking about it. I’m just going to pretend it never happened. I’m going to stand here and pretend I’m waiting on a drink I have not ordered. Then again, maybe I need to order two. I need to get shitfaced, and then maybe I can forget this entire night ever happened.