Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
But if it were a date, it would be a really good one. The kind that feels spontaneous and unexpected, yet perfect. A picnic in the park versus a fancy dinner in a crowded restaurant; a stroll through a quiet bookstore versus shouted conversations in a smoky bar; a movie night where you make it fifteen minutes in and then lock eyes across the couch and turn absolutely feral.
“This is so good,” Cole says, polishing off his burger in four bites.
He’s almost done with his fries, too, but I don’t want all of mine so I tilt my container toward him in invitation. He takes them with a grateful nod.
“So is this it?” I say, patting my full stomach. “Have we entered the friendship phase?”
“Friendship phase?”
“Yeah, you know, the type of relationship where we aren’t constantly at each other’s throats? We’ve moved beyond the enemy phase.”
Cole assesses me while he finishes chewing. Whatever it is he’s thinking about, it’s making him irritated. I resist the urge to check for ketchup on my face. I won’t buckle under his scrutiny, not anymore.
Finally, he reaches for more fries and shakes his head.
“Sounds kind of boring.”
Oh, what’s that I detect? An air of annoyance? Well, excuuuuse me. Remind me to never bring up friendship with Cole ever again.
“Friendship offer officially revoked.”
He laughs. “So enemies again?”
“For life,” I tease.
He clears our dinner as I go wash my hands. “What should we do now?” I call from the bathroom.
“I was going to head down and go for a run in the gym.”
“But you just got back,” I pout.
I dry my hands and walk back out into the suite to see that Cole’s taken his sweater off so he can hang it back up in the closet. His undershirt is tight over his sculpted chest. His biceps flex in a way that zaps my brain cells.
“You don’t need to go work out. Look at you! You’re in tip-top shape. Your body-fat percentage is probably like point zero three.”
His gaze slices to me. “Okay. So what should we do instead?”
I swear his eyebrow lifts slightly.
A flame ignites low in my belly, but I don’t think he meant to turn me on with his innocuous question. I’m just a horndog.
“Argue about what TV show to watch?” I suggest helpfully.
I walk over to retrieve the remote off the dresser, and I wave it out for him to take. “Come on, you can go first. Pick something.”
He walks over to take the remote from me, but when he reaches me, he pauses for a moment. Those heady x-ray eyes are back as he looks down, cocky in his inspection of my T-shirt and sleep shorts. I watch him swallow, and I fear for my resolve.
What would I do if he took another step closer?
If he bent down and fisted my shirt, tugging me toward him?
If he wanted to kiss me . . .
Knuckles pound on our door, distracting us.
I’m expecting housekeeping (Pavlovian response, probably, because who else knocks on your door when you’re staying in a hotel?), but when I open it, Camila and Lara are standing out in the hall.
“She’s alive!” Lara exclaims, throwing her hands up in celebration.
Camila wastes no time leaning in, trying to see past me. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
When she spots Cole still standing near the TV, her jaw drops open so wide I worry it might become permanently unhinged. Her gaze slowly shifts to me, filled with disbelief. “We heard you two were rooming together, but it just seemed like a dumb rumor. I mean, the odds . . .”
The two of them exchange a glance; then Lara looks to me.
“You said you found a spare room,” she says like she’s accusing me of lying.
I try to close the door a smidge, to make our conversation a little more private, but Camila won’t let me. She props her foot out like it’s a doorstop.
“I did find a spare room,” I insist. “It just so happened to include Cole.”
“So you’re willingly here right now?” Lara asks, pointing inside the room. “This isn’t like a hostage situation?”
“Damn it.” Camila props her hands on her hips and shakes her head. “We should have come up with a safe word for this situation! With you two, this was bound to happen eventually . . .” She walks over to me and leans in really close, lowering her voice. “If he has you here under some kind of blackmail situation or worse, you just say the word and—”
Cole scoffs from his perch in front of the TV where he’s scrolling through channels. “She’s free to go whenever she wants.”
Lara grins and reaches out for my hand, like problem solved. “Okay, good. C’mon. We heard there’s some chocolate chip cookies downstairs. They’re left over from lunch, but who cares? I’m in need of something sweet!”