Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
-Your Old Man
PS I’ll always worry. But I know you’ll be okay.
“Dad said you’re living with a grumpy asshole,” Avery said on the Zoom call that she, Yara, and I were on. I sat on the edge of the deck in Theo’s backyard, bathing in the sunlight as my sisters and I caught up on life.
Avery looked beautiful pregnant, but she’d been put on bed rest, which must’ve been driving her up a wall. Over the past few days, ever since she was told the news about being on bed rest, she’d texted Yara and me dozens of Instagram reels that I’d already seen weeks ago on TikTok. Avery hated social media, but she must’ve hit her boredom threshold. Now, she was leaving me voice memos with random social media sound clips.
“I wouldn’t say he’s an asshole,” I stated as I put on my sunglasses. “I mean, there are asshole moments, but I think that’s just him trying to be an asshole, not because he’s an actual asshole. If that makes sense.”
“That makes absolutely zero sense,” Avery stated.
I chuckled. “It’s like he’s trying to be an asshole just to keep people away.”
Avery pursed her lips together in understanding. “Oh. That’s a concept I can respect. I like keeping people away, too. People are the worst.”
“Not if you get to know them,” Yara chimed in as she stood in her doggy daycare, mixing up a batch of homemade dog treats.
I nodded. “I agree. Some people put on an act until you get to know them. But I can definitely say he’s a grump.”
“As someone who fell in love with her own grump, marry him,” Yara said.
“As someone who married a golden retriever, I can vouch that a grump and golden retriever pair well together,” Avery agreed. It was odd seeing my two sisters so happily married and in love. For a long time, I thought that would be me. I thought we’d all live in Honey Creek together and raise our families. I thought I’d have Dad build me a house on the lake with a view of the most stunning sunsets. I thought I’d be married young and deep in love.
That all changed after the accident with Anna.
“Willow,” someone called out behind me. I turned to find Theo standing there, staring my way with his always stern look. “We should get going if we’re gonna pick up decorations and meet with the caterers to sample the food.”
“Holy shit!” both my sisters exclaimed as they got as close as possible to their cell phones.
“That’s the asshole?!” Avery hollered without thought.
“Avery!” I whisper-shouted, feeling my cheeks flush from her bluntness.
“Sorry, sorry.” She cleared her throat and then whispered, “That’s the asshole?”
“Hmph,” Theo huffed, arching an eyebrow.
“Oh, he is a grump,” Yara commented. “I know that huff. I fell in love with that huff in Alex.”
“Hey, asshole! Over here!” Avery said, waving her hands in the air.
Theo stepped closer, his body directly beside mine, and he kneeled to get in front of the laptop’s camera. “Yeah?”
“Come closer,” she urged.
He inched a little closer.
“You see that, Yara?” Avery asked.
“Oh, I see it. The blue eyes,” Yara agreed. “He’s giving extreme Bradley Cooper vibes circa The Hangover.”
“Hey, asshole, did you know that Bradley Cooper was Willow’s celebrity crush? It’s almost like she’s living with her celebrity crush. If she hasn’t told you, Willow thinks you’re super ho—”
“And that’s enough,” I said, rushing to shut my laptop. Note to self: Kill my sisters.
Theo arched an eyebrow. “Did you tell them my name was Asshole?”
“No,” I disagreed. “My dad did.”
“Your father thinks I’m an asshole?”
“My father thinks anyone near his daughters is an asshole.”
“Fair.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you give him the idea that we were…something?”
“What?! No. Of course not.” The embarrassment that crept up my body was almost unbearable.
“Even though I’m your celebrity crush?”
“You are not my celebrity crush.”
He scrunched his nose in disbelief. “I don’t know. It sounds like you have a crush on me.”
“I do not have a crush on you!” I rolled my eyes dramatically as my heart began to pound at the wildest speed ever. “Don’t get a big head. You look nothing like Bradley Cooper.”
He looked everything like Bradley Cooper. In fact, I found myself drooling over him last weekend as he chopped wood in the backyard. He was shirtless. Shirtless!
Theo almost smiled as he stood beside me.
Almost.
I saw the twitch at the corners of his mouth, but instead of melting into the smile, he shook it into a frown. “We should get going.”
I grabbed my laptop, stood, and followed him to his truck. He opened the passenger side door for me, and I said, “Thank you.”
“Anything for my number one fan,” he responded instantly, with a bit of sparkle in his eyes and a little wink.
Was I in the twilight zone? Was he being…playful?