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)
“Hey, you.”
Damn, it’s good to hear her voice. “What are you up to?”
“Sitting in the dark, kicking myself in the proverbial ass for cleaning house this morning and not showering right away. Now I have no power, I assume from the storm, and I’m in desperate need of a shower.”
“Come to my place.”
“I’m just whining. I’m sorry. How’s the pizza oven coming?”
“It’s not. We were hoping the rain would let up, but we gave up, and we’re all going back tomorrow.”
“Yeah, this weather is shit.”
I laugh. “It really is. So, are you coming to my place to shower or what?”
“You’re not even home. How do you know you have power?”
“How do you know I’m not home?”
“I can hear the air conditioning vents.”
“Fine. I’m not home, but my security system always alerts me to a power outage, and I haven’t received one. Come on. You know you want a shower. And it’s got to be getting hot as hell in your apartment without air conditioning.”
“It’s not too bad.”
“Palmer.”
“Brooks,” she sasses, and I can’t wait to see her to kiss the sass from her perfect pink lips.
“I’m ten minutes out. Pack what you need to shower at my place. I’ll be out front waiting for you.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can go to my parents’ or to Deacon’s.”
“You can come to my place with me.”
“Let me get some things together, and I’ll come over for a little while.”
“Since I’m already out, I’ll pick you up. You don’t need to be driving in this shit,” I say as the rain starts to come down even harder against the windshield.
“You do know I’m a big girl, right? I can drive, go potty, and even feed myself.”
“Haha, smartass. Let me do this for you, Palmer. Just pack a bag. I’ll be there in eight minutes.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re bossy as hell?”
“You’re the first to be around long enough to have the opportunity. I’ll see you in seven minutes, beautiful.” I end the call before she can complain, or worse, decline. I’m not taking no for an answer. There is no point in her sweating it out at her place when she can be at mine.
With me.
It takes me twelve minutes to get to her apartment with the torrential rain. I pull up to the front door and see her standing in the hallway. I smile and beep the horn. She grins, shakes her head, and makes a run for it. Leaning over, I push open her door, and she jumps in, bag and all, slamming it behind her.
“Hi.” She looks over at me, and she’s drenched, but the smile on her face is bright.
“Hi.” I push her wet hair out of her eyes before sliding my hand behind her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. “You taste like chocolate.”
“Oh.” She grins. “I made these before the power went out.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out a small container of what looks like cookies. “Chocolate chip. I brought them for you as a thank-you for the ride and for letting me use your shower. And your air conditioning,” she adds.
“That wasn’t necessary, but thank you.” I release her and settle back behind the wheel. “You ready?”
“All set.” She smiles, and I swear the tilt of those lips has a direct line to my heart, and it squeezes every single time she points that smile in my direction.
I pull back out on the road. Mindful of my passenger, I stay off the throttle. “So you spent the day cleaning?” I ask her.
“Yes. I had just finished the cookies and mopping the kitchen when the power went out. I got all my laundry done and the entire apartment cleaned before it happened. The only thing I didn’t clean was me.”
I can help with that. “I need to do that too. That was the plan for tomorrow, but now I’ll just have to put it off.”
“Brooks! If you had plans, you shouldn’t be picking me up and hauling me around.”
“You’re more fun.” I should tell her that I missed her, but I keep that to myself. I know that’s not what this is supposed to be, but I missed her all the same.
“Well, I’m already a sweaty mess, so I’ll help you clean before I shower.”
“No. You’re a guest.”
“And your plans for the weekend were hijacked. Really, I don’t mind cleaning. I want to help you.”
“We’ll see,” I say.
“Nope. Either you help me, or I go home.”
“What if I refuse to take you?”
“I can call Ramsey, or Deacon, or hell, one of your brothers.”
“And how will you explain the fact that you’re with me?” I want her to say she doesn’t give a shit if they find out. I hate hiding her, hiding us, but I agreed to this ridiculous plan. What I was thinking, I don’t know. It’s been weeks, and we’re still hiding.