Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“Let’s try again—how was your day?”
“Good.” She told me about speaking to a commercial real estate agent, and her voice grew more animated as she gave me some details about one of the places she was going to see tomorrow morning. “I’m also seeing some on Sunday, and a couple early next week, but I really have my hopes pinned on this one building.” She sighed. “Which is probably a mistake, because it’s got the steepest rent, and it’s not even the largest space.”
“Well, no harm in looking, is there?”
“There’s harm if I fall in love with it! What if I get in there and it’s the perfect fit, but I can’t have it?”
“If it’s the perfect fit, I bet you’ll find a way to have it.”
“Yeah,” she said, but she sounded a little sad. “Maybe. I hope so.”
“I should let you get back to sleep. I’m sure you’re tired.”
“I’m a little tired,” she admitted. “We had a wedding tonight, and it ran later than usual. That’s one thing I won’t miss—the late nights at work. Being busy pretty much every Friday and Saturday. Makes it hard to have a social life.”
“Yeah.” But suddenly I thought of her out on dates or having cocktails with her sisters or friends in a bar, every guy in the place staring at her. I clenched my teeth. “Let me know how it goes with the building.”
“I will.” She paused, then laughed. “I was about to tell you to let me know how it goes in the shower, but . . .”
I laughed too. “My shower will be lonely.”
Her laughter faded. “God, Zach. This is even harder than I thought it would be.”
“I know.”
Neither of us said anything for a few seconds.
“Goodnight, Zach.”
“Night.”
I went straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower. She’d said her favorite was the jasmine honeysuckle, so I unwrapped that tablet and placed it on the tile. As I undressed, I thought about her. While I stood beneath the spray inhaling the sweet floral scent, I thought about her. With my hand wrapped around my cock, working up and down its hard length, I thought about her.
I didn’t know how to stop.
After I got out of the gym on Sunday, I noticed a text from her. It was ridiculous the way my heart raced when I saw her name.
I SAW MY SHOP!
As soon as I got behind the wheel, I called her.
“I saw it!” she said, sounding out of breath. “I saw my shop!”
I smiled at her excitement. “Yeah? Which one?”
“The historic building. It needs work for sure, but the moment I saw it I had a feeling, and then when I stepped inside I got chills. I just knew.”
“You gotta trust that feeling. What kind of work does it need?”
“I need to tear everything out that’s in there now and configure it the way I want it. I’ll need to put in dressing rooms, a riser and mirrors for fittings, a seating area, a reception counter, new lighting. I love the original floors, but they need to be refinished, some painting needs to be done, and there was a plumbing problem that damaged one wall, but my dad thinks it could all be done within a month or so. He came with me to see it, which was good because I’ll need his help for a lot of the work. He’s really handy.”
A jolt of envy shot through me. I was handy too. If I was there, I could do things for her—the floors maybe, or the painting, or construct those fitting rooms. Install her computers. And a security system. I could carry heavy boxes or lift furniture or even just keep her company. She wouldn’t need another man.
Great, now I was jealous of her dad. As if I wasn’t officially an asshole before. “A month or so? That’s not bad.”
“Not at all. And January will be the perfect time to open. Now I’m reaching out to designers to see when I might be able to get sample dresses and veils. And did I tell you I spoke to my boss at Cloverleigh about leaving?”
“No. How did it go?”
“Amazing. I was so nervous, but she was really supportive and understanding—she agrees that I should do this.”
“So when will you stop working?”
“Probably at the end of October. My sister Winnie will take over for me here, and she wanted to give her boss at least a few weeks’ notice.”
“You sound so happy,” I said, picturing her smiling face. Why was it making my chest hurt?
“I am. Thank you for telling me to trust my gut. I kept hearing your voice when I was walking through the space, encouraging me to go for it.”
“I want to see you,” I blurted.
She was stunned silent. “Huh?”
“I want to see you.” The words tumbled out quickly. “I have another job in New York this week. Meet me there.”