Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
I’d slipped my sunglasses on and kept shooting side glances out of the corner of them. Rafe handled stick with a confidence that was mesmerizing. The muscles in his forearms flexed now and then with his movements. It was unfair that every inch of him was beautiful. I mean, I hadn’t seen every inch, but usually people had some kind of flaw, right? That was what made them interesting. Rafe should be boring, he was that physically perfect. But he was anything but boring. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d been blessed with the body of a superhero. The man actually got up at five every weekday to work out at the gym in his building. He even had a trainer. When I’d asked him why he enjoyed working out, he said not only did the actual workout take his mind off everything else going on in his life, but he always felt great after it. Energized.
I wondered how that energy would translate into the bedroom.
Dammit.
I ripped my gaze from his freaking forearm at the realization that his limb was turning me on. Bad fake girlfriend. I shook my head at myself.
“You okay over there? You’re very quiet this morning,” Rafe observed. “Do you need water? There’s a cooler on the back seat with bottles of water and fruit juice. I’ve got snacks too. There are some breakfast bars, but there are also fresh bagels from the place around the corner from my building. I didn’t know if you’d eat before we left.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted the cooler and a net grocery bag brimming with food. On top of it was a white bakery box.
Complimentary and considerate.
Seriously, what was going on with him?
“Do you want a bagel?” I asked. “I can hold it for you.”
“Yeah?”
“Sure.”
“Then, yeah, I’ve only had a protein shake this morning and I’m starving.”
Nodding, I took off my seat belt to lean into the back.
“Be careful,” Rafe murmured.
As I wedged myself between the front seats, the car suddenly swerved.
“Sorry, shit,” Rafe growled. “Asshole came out of nowhere. You okay?”
I’d grabbed onto the back of the front seats, my nails digging into Rafe’s perfect ivory leather. My heart lurched—not gonna lie—but I was okay. I told him so. Then I returned to trying to reach for water and food.
I thought I heard Rafe mutter something about his “own personal hell.”
Frowning, I grabbed the bagels once I had the water and shimmied back into the front seat. “What?” I straightened out my dress, glad my boobs hadn’t popped free with all the movement.
“What?” he repeated back at me.
“You said something.”
“Nope.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t push it. Instead, I pulled my seat belt back on, placed the water in cup holders, and then opened the bagel box. “Breakfast bagels. Yum.” They’d already cut each of them in half for easier eating on the go. Probably a bagel no-no anywhere else, but I appreciated the practicality. I handed Rafe half of his.
Feeding him while he drove and then making sure he was watered felt awfully girlfriendy, but I tried not to think about it, just as I tried not to think about his odd behavior. Although the grumpy, brooding man I’d met three months ago had gradually disappeared over the weeks, this was different. He was different. And I didn’t understand why.
To steer my thoughts elsewhere, I asked Rafe about his week, and he told me that poor Finn had expressed a cavapoo’s anal glands the day before and the secretion had sprayed all over his face. I’d cackled at Rafe’s boyishly wicked enjoyment of it, but I’d also felt truly bad for Finn. Honestly. I knew my amusement suggested otherwise, but poor Finn.
“We’ve all been there. He’s gotta learn.” Rafe shook his head, still grinning.
The conversation lulled me back into a comfortable place and I told Rafe about my week. Thursday had been my best day because I had a four-year-old’s party at a preschool and I’d dressed as Elsa from Frozen while a colleague dressed as Anna.
“The kids were so cute and excited. I love it when they really believe I’m the character. Their wonder and awe makes my week.” I beamed, thinking about the little birthday girl and how she’d clung to my sparkly blue skirts the entire time, smiling up at me like I was an angel. It made my chest throb just thinking about it.
“I bet you make a gorgeous Elsa,” Rafe commented, shooting me a quick look. “The kids must have been in heaven.”
What. The. Actual. Heck?
“Are you practicing right now?” I blurted out.
I could have sworn he restrained a smile, but he kept his head turned toward the road. “Practicing?”
“The compliments. The flirty compliments.”
His mouth definitely tugged upward. “Okay.”
Okay? That wasn’t an answer! “Is that a yes? No? What?”
Rafe shrugged. “Sure.”
Sure to yes or no or what? I spluttered, “Are you being deliberately infuriating?”