Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
* * *
Milo: Yes, she does. Anyway, didn’t want to worry you.
* * *
Why would he think I was worried? He couldn’t hear my top-five list.
I text back as I flop onto my bed.
* * *
Veronica: It’s all good. She didn’t freak me out. I hope you had a nice time with your brother.
* * *
There. That’s not flirty at all. We’re simply having a nice, civilized, professional-ish conversation.
* * *
Milo: I wouldn’t call it nice. More like very intense trash talk and one-upmanship. But hey, that’s what brothers do.
* * *
That’s sweet, Milo telling me about his family.
* * *
Veronica: Older or younger? Wait. Let me guess. He’s older and he’s always telling you what to do, but he’s the first one at the door ready to pick you up when you’re down?
* * *
Milo: Let me guess. You have one of your own.
* * *
I settle into my purple, red, and orange pillows as I clutch the device and reply.
* * *
Veronica: I have one of those in the form of a sister. They have so many ideas, older siblings.
* * *
Milo: And they always know best.
* * *
Veronica: And they aren’t afraid to tell you.
* * *
Milo: But truth be told, I think he is. I’m going to miss him when he moves to LA.
Someone is chatty. Milo doesn’t seem to want to let this convo go any more than I do. It’s nine-thirty at night, but that’s not terribly late, so I reply with a question.
* * *
Veronica: Why is he moving?
* * *
Milo: Bryan’s a contractor. He specializes in makeovers and restoring homes, and he has a big opportunity in LA. Can you believe he’s leaving me for a job? Sheesh!
* * *
Veronica: The nerve!
* * *
Milo: My thoughts exactly. There should be a sibling law against that. Anyway, he’ll take off later this summer. For now, I try to see him as much as possible, which means I get my supply of brotherly advice on the reg. Is your sister in New York?
* * *
I shouldn’t read anything into this—how long we’ve been texting, how casually personal this feels, how quickly he’s replying. People can enjoy texting other people without it meaning they’re going to have sex on the copy machine the next day.
* * *
Veronica: Yes, she’s in the city. She’s a romance writer. And my biggest cheerleader and a total pain in the butt, and if she ever tried to move, I would lock her in my cupboard and make her stay.
* * *
Milo: LOL! (Also, I don’t usually write LOL, but if we were in person I’d laugh, so it only seems fair to let you know you made me laugh.)
* * *
I tense, eyeing the phone like it’s spying on me. Make me laugh was an item on my top-five fantasies list. Fine, make me laugh is a broad command, but is this some subtle way of telling me he heard me? But there’s no way to ask without sounding paranoid. Instead, I stick to the light-hearted mood.
* * *
Veronica: On behalf of the Fairness in Texting Council, I humbly accept your reasoning.
* * *
Milo: Do you ever want to write, like your sister? Since you worked in publishing, I was just curious.
* * *
Ugh. My shoulders sink. I don’t want him to connect the dots between me and my secret writing identity. I hate this, but I have no choice.
* * *
Veronica: I think all the romance writing genes went to her.
* * *
But after I hit send, I feel like a dirty little liar. Maybe I can be direct-ish about other topics.
* * *
Veronica: By the way, I was dictating my to-do list when Trudy said hello. Tell her I say hi too.
* * *
That’s honest enough, but it protects my anonymity with my column.
* * *
Milo: She sends her regards to StudMuffin and you as well. Also, thanks for reminding me of my failures in life. My New Year’s resolution was to do a better job at keeping a to-do list, but then I forgot to write it down.
* * *
I can’t even laugh at the joke. Is he serious? Can anyone be?
* * *
Veronica: I AM SHOOK. You don’t keep a list? How do you function?
* * *
Milo: I try to remember everything.
* * *
Veronica: Good luck with that. Sidenote: I love lists. Adore them. I want to date lists. We’ll have to do a National List Day.
* * *
Milo: Sounds like a wild date. Sidenote: Can ‘order flowers for everyone’ be on the work list?
* * *
Veronica: Obviously.
* * *
Milo: Anyway, I don’t want to commandeer all your time. I need to go write a list. I hope you had a good evening, Veronica.
I stare at his name a little longer, a little wistfully. But it’s for the best that he’s shutting down our conversation, even though I love the way he used my name, and I don’t even know why.