Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“What do you mean?”
A deep frown appeared on his face. “You’re acting like our mother where Arabella and I are concerned. She’s made it clear that she’s not interested in me anymore.”
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure she wasn’t coming. “No. The opposite. I think Arabella likes you just as much now as she did back when you dated, and that scares her.”
That made his eyes widen in surprise. “You think she still likes me?”
I nodded and shut the back door before I walked around to the driver’s side of my car. “Yes. She’s always liked you.”
“What?” he asked. No, nearly shouted.
“Shut up before she hears you. Something happened to her in college.”
“You don’t think I know that? I asked her a dozen times—if not more—about what happened. Begged her to tell me. She finally just cut me out of her life. Trying to force her back into mine isn’t going to work.”
“I’m not forcing anything. I invited her to dinner, for Pete’s sake. If something sparks between the two of you then great. If not, then it wasn’t meant to be.”
A look of pain moved over his face before he sighed and shook his head. “There won’t be any sparks.”
I slid into the car. “Then maybe you can at least be friends again.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Gotta go! I love you, Hunter.”
He leaned down and kissed my cheek before I shut the door.
As I started down the drive, I glanced back to see Arabella walk out of the store and down the steps. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face when I saw my brother light up like the Fourth of July as she walked to his truck and he helped her climb up.
“You can thank me later, Hunter.”
Willa
Thanksgiving Day
My folks’ house smelled like culinary heaven. Turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce—not to mention the tantalizing scents of apple, pumpkin, and cherry pies—all filled the air, along with a dozen or so different vegetable dishes. I glanced out the window to see Aiden chasing Ben in the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. My heart warmed at the sight, and I placed my hand over my stomach to keep the fluttering feeling there at bay.
“It smells amazing!” Bree said as she walked into the kitchen.
I turned around and squealed when I saw her. “You made it!” I said, pulling her into my arms and hugging her.
“I did, and I brought a date.”
I raised a brow. “A date, huh?”
Bree half shrugged. “Okay, fine. You pulled it out of me. I paid for him to be my date.”
I took a step back and looked over her shoulder at the handsome man currently kissing the back of my mother’s hand. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and then focused back on Bree. “Wait. Are you serious?”
Reaching over and grabbing a piece of cheese from the charcuterie board that Aiden and I had made last night, Bree tossed it into her mouth and nodded. “Serious as shit.”
I was positive I blinked at least a hundred times before I was able to think clearly. “You paid to have a date come with you…why?”
Bree glanced over her shoulder, and at that moment, her mother Karen rushed into the room and made a beeline straight for her daughter. “Brighton, he’s amazing! Is he a lawyer?”
With a fake-as-hell smile on her face, Bree said, “Of course he is.”
Her mother clapped, turning to me. “Oh! Willa, sweetheart, how are you?” Before I could even answer, she kissed me on the cheek and said, “That’s wonderful, dear.” And then rushed out of the door and back to Bree’s date.
I looked at Bree, and she raised a single brow. “Do you see? It’s easier for me to pay someone to pretend I’m dating them than to come alone and have my mother nag me for four days about why I haven’t settled down yet.”
I pressed my lips into a tight line to keep from laughing.
“Go ahead, laugh. You have a boyfriend whom your parents love and adore.”
“That is true. And Ben loves him as well. Did I tell you every time he sees Aiden, he says Dada?”
Her eyes lit up. “God, please tell me he’s done that in front of Brian!”
I blew out a breath and said, “Brian hasn’t seen Ben since the divorce.”
“What? Like, at all? Not even for his visits?”
I shook my head. “As a matter of fact, Annie James told Millie, who told Tess, who then told Betty, who naturally informed Aiden, that Brian and Ellen are moving to Boston.”
Bree closed her eyes and gave her head a small shake. “God Almighty, I always forget about the small-town gossip chain.”
“I know. I’m pretty sure I left someone out between Millie and Tess,” I said with a halfhearted laugh.
“Okay, well, you know if he goes for a certain amount of time without seeing Ben and moves without telling you, then we can get him for abandonment and he could lose all visitation rights. And, honestly, any say in how Ben is raised—not that he really has any now.”