Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
No, Tori, not lost him. This is casual. I was never going to have him.
Valentine Stranger: Sorry, I was called away for work, Tori. I’m the chief of surgery at Jackson South. They need me for a complex consultation.
Tori: Wow, that’s impressive. But we’re not supposed to know each other’s names.
Valentine Stranger: It turns out my buddy isn’t as averse to playing games as I am. Julian arranged it so that we would have each other’s numbers. I won’t be able to text for long. I’m just waiting for a cab.
Tori: I know. Cleo was in on the game, too. I don’t even know your name, stranger.
Valentine Stranger: It’s Alex. And don’t worry. I didn’t leave because I was uninterested, if that’s what you’re thinking.
That’s good because I was worried. But I’m not going to tell him that. That’s the sort of thing Mom would admit, wearing her heart on her sleeve, apparently not caring if it slips and splats on the floor over and over.
Tori: I wasn’t worried, Alex. Your job is very important. Far more important than some silly Valentine’s texting.
Alex: I thought it was silly and pointless until I knew it was you.
I chew on my lip. Then, I quickly stop myself. I need to stop acting like some naïve lovestruck chick in a rom-com.
Tori: Next, you’ll tell me you were struck with a Cupid’s arrow, Alex. Do you use this line on all the girls?
Alex: I don’t use any lines on anybody, ever. How long do you think you’ll be at the bar?
Tori: I’m not sure. Until Lily gets bored and wants to go home to her fiancée, and Cleo goes home either with your friend or her secret Valentine. Or both.
Alex: What about you? Are you planning on going home with anybody?
Okay, this is pushy, right? At least, I’m sure I should find it pushy. It’s the sort of question Damien might ask, overstepping his boundaries.
Tori: What would you say if I said I was?
Alex: I’d tell you I’m going to leave work early to stop that from happening. You see, Tori, you’ve got a lot of responsibility here. You’ve basically become a surgeon yourself.
I laugh.
Tori: How’d you figure that?
Alex: Your reply is going to have a significant effect on the outcome.
Tori: So you’re telling me a man who has worked hard to get where you are would give it all up for a stranger?
Alex: Not just any stranger. The girl with the wild hair and curves in all the right places.
I roll my eyes, trying to play it cool, but Lily and Cleo are watching me knowingly. They both remain quiet as if they don’t want to break the spell.
Tori: What if I told the hunky, somewhat demanding silver fox that I wasn’t planning on going home with anybody? What if I asked him when he would be done with work?
Alex: Then maybe this slightly obsessed man would ask— translation: demand—for you to meet him for a romantic midnight beach stroll.
I gasp.
“What?” Lily asks.
“Nothing,” I mutter.
She’ll start talking about destiny, sweet surrenders, and soulmates if I tell her.
“You can’t make that noise and then not tell us,” Lily demands.
“What noise?” I say, trying to play it cool.
Cleo throws her hands up like a heroine from a Regency drama, letting out the most over-the-top gasp, straining so that the veins on her neck bulge.
“Jeez, relax,” I say, wiping a tear from my eye, laughing. “You’re going to burst a blood vessel.”
“How was that?” Cleo says.
Lily grins mischievously. “Perfect.”
“It’s nothing,” I say, waving my hand at them to settle down. “He just suggested a beach walk, that’s all. But we’re in Miami. It’s not like it’s unusual to suggest going to the beach, is it?”
Right on cue, Lily says, “Duh. Fate.”
“There’s only one thing for it,” Cleo says. “Rush to the bathroom, whip off your top, show him some cleavage to keep him interested…”
“She doesn’t want to give the wrong impression,” Lily interjects.
“But this is the right impression!” Cleo exclaims excitedly. “She wants him to know it’s casual. What’s more casual than that?”
“I’m not doing that,” I say.
“But you want to,” Cleo teases.
She’s not entirely wrong, which is just plain crazy. There’s a part of me that wants to do it, especially because I’m a little stunned that he wants me.
I’ve had attention from guys before, but not a lot, and nobody like Alex. My body still tingles from when he stood up for me, his muscles straining, his intense eyes looking ready to fight for me.
I take a breath. I can do this. I can have some casual fun. I’m not an alien. I’m a twenty-one-year-old woman, just like Cleo, like any other girl in this place. I don’t have to be so serious all the time.
Dad’s death didn’t stain me. Mom’s irresponsible attitude toward relationships hasn’t ruined me.