Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
One dark eyebrow lifted. “You haven’t done that?”
Heat exploded across her cheeks and down her neck. His eyes tracked her flush. “What I mean is that I grew up on a farm. With animals,” she said meaningfully. “You know what animals do, I imagine.” Ren pressed a hand to the side of her mouth, stage whispering, “I know what sex is, Fitz.”
With a smile in his eyes, Fitz leaned in, pressing a hand to the side of his mouth, too. “Hopefully you aren’t basing your entire sexual education on the breeding of barn animals, Ren.”
“Of course not,” she said primly. “In fact, there is a lot of valuable sex education to be found in romantic literature.”
“I’m sure there is.”
She grinned at him. “But you probably know a lot more about romance than I do. You could give me some real-life examples from your past.”
His smile faded, and he straightened. “Nice try, Sunshine.”
Ren glared down at her menu.
Throughout dinner, Ren noticed him doing it time and time again: distracting her from asking questions by pointing to something interesting nearby, asking her about her past, making jokes.
After dinner, they bought ice cream and walked around the downtown area. It was beautiful, with trees and a mix of newer buildings and older architecture. They passed an art museum and block after block after block of shopping and restaurants. Fitz led her into a busy park and pointed to a fountain ahead with four life-size bronze horses and an empty bench nearby.
“Those horses represent what were thought of as the four mightiest rivers,” Ren told him as they sat.
A soft laugh came out on his exhale. “Of course you know all about this.”
“The Mississippi, the Volga, the Seine, and the Rhine.”
Fitz squinted at the fountain. “That’s actually pretty cool.”
“Here’s the really cool part,” she said. “It was originally commissioned for a private estate in France, but it was sold as salvage after a huge fire and moved all the way here. Imagine seeing something like that when you look out your window at breakfast.”
“Rich people are so weird,” he agreed.
She bumped his shoulder. “Okay, rich kid.”
“Right.” He frowned, leaning forward and bracing his forearms on his thighs. “Well, be sure to check the fountain off your list when we get back to the hotel.”
She mentally logged this reaction. Back at Corona, Fitz seemed to proudly play the part of the son of the school’s most generous benefactor. Away from school, Fitz lived simply, lacked bravado, and hated being referred to as wealthy. “Thank you,” she said. “I might not have remembered. You’re sweet, Fitz.”
He huffed a soft laugh through his nose, looking down at the ground. “It’s not sweet, Ren, it’s just a reminder.”
“Why do you work so hard to insist you’re not a nice guy?”
“Because I’m not a nice guy. I’m just—” He exhaled a frustrated breath, looking over at her and then away. “You want me to be something I’m not.”
“I don’t want you to be anything,” she said, bewildered. “I like who you are.”
“You barely know me.”
“I like what I’ve seen so far.” Her shoulders hitched up in a tiny shrug. “I only want to know you better.”
“Well, don’t try too hard. We’re almost to Nashville.”
Ren stared at his profile and then looked out at the fountain, at a loss. “Okay. I won’t.”
Fitz stood. “Should we head back? We have a long day of driving tomorrow.”
“Sure.” An ache passed through her. It was whiplash with him. Ren didn’t know what she’d done to make him want to wedge all this distance between them, but she knew better than to ask him about it.
He finished off his ice cream and tossed the wrapper into a garbage can as they passed. It was dark out; in a city like this, Ren could barely see any stars. All of a sudden, she missed them desperately.
She dug around inside, searching for something else to think about. His words echoed back to her. “Would you like me to do some of the driving tomorrow?”
Beside her, Fitz laughed and maneuvered around a couple of kids with skateboards. “No, it’s fine.”
“I know it can be draining,” she said. “I really don’t mind.”
“Are you even legal behind the wheel?”
“Excuse me.” She went to playfully shove him before remembering that the mood wasn’t in that place anymore. “I grew up in Idaho. State of the best drivers in the nation.”
“Interesting.” He slid an amused smile her way. “I’ve never heard that statistic.”
“I got my driver’s license when I was sixteen, I’ll have you know, and am a very capable operator of motor vehicles of all kinds, including stick shifts.”
“No one drives Max but me.” Fitz reached over and tweaked her ear, and she had to fight the urge to lean into the contact.
“I would take very good care of him, I promise.”