Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Me: How many more days until I’m back in your arms?
I don’t know where he is, or what he’s doing. I know today was a travel day, but that’s all I know. He doesn’t answer; instead, I see the FaceTime ring. I pick it up right away and wait for us to connect.
“Hey,” I say when I see his face fills the screen. “I got your box.”
“Did you?” He smiles, and I see that he is walking somewhere.
“I did,” I tell him, turning to my stomach and looking at him. “Where are you?”
“On my way to the plane,” he says and turns the camera around for me to see the jet waiting. “First stop Philly,” he tells me, “then Buffalo and then New York.”
“When do you arrive in New York?” I ask him, counting down the hours at this point.
“Saturday morning,” he says, and I’m bummed. “We get in at ten, and then we have skate right away, and then I have to be back at the rink at five.” I’m about to ask him when I’m going to finally see him when he looks at me. “Beautiful, I have to call you back.”
“Okay,” I say to him. “Fly safe.” He smiles and winks at me and then disconnects.
I’m about to go back to work when I hear the front door open and close. “I’m here.” I hear Zoe from the front door. “I come with gifts,” she says, and I get up and walk down the stairs. “What are you wearing?” she asks me, and I look down at the Adidas shirt that is obviously too big for me.
“It’s Evan’s,” I say, and she shakes her head. “What? I miss him.”
“So I see,” she says and then she holds up the brown paper bag. “I brought you bagels.”
“Oh, good,” I say, grabbing the bag and feeling the warmth coming from the bag. “Fresh too.”
“Straight out of the oven,” she says as she follows me into the kitchen. “I want mine toasted,” she says, grabbing one and then putting it in the toaster while I do the same to mine. I walk to the fridge and grab some cream cheese.
“How was today?” she asks. She stands in front of me wearing perfectly pressed black pants with a white silk shirt tied at the neck. Her black sandals complete her classy and professional outfit.
“Bittersweet,” I tell her. “But it was time that I let go of one.”
“It was way past time,” she tells me. “You need to take the leap, and now is the perfect time.”
“Everything happens when it’s supposed to happen,” I tell her, and she just nods. “When are you going back to Dallas?” she asks me.
“Sunday,” I answer her. “I booked a flight in the afternoon.”
“Does that mean you’re bringing Evan to the after-game party?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye, and I can just imagine what she’s thinking.
“I haven’t asked him, but if he wants to, I’ll bring him. If not, I’ll skip it,” I tell her, grabbing the bagels that have popped up.
“You never miss the after-game party,” she says. “This is a big deal, isn’t it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I like him,” I tell her. “Like really, really like him.”
She doesn’t ask me anything else, nor does she push me. She eats her bagel and then goes to raid my closet again, leaving with another outfit. I lock up after she leaves and go to take a bath, and when Evan FaceTimes me, I’m just slipping into bed.
“Hey,” I say once his face comes on the screen, and I see he looks tired.
“Hey, beautiful.” He greets me the same way each time.
“Did you just get in?” I ask him, getting comfy, and he nods. “So,” I say and try to come up with the words and then see him looking at me. “My family is having an after-game party get-together on Saturday.”
“Okay,” he says, and I see him shrug off his jacket. He is in his hotel room, and he gets on the bed.
“I was wondering if you would like to come with me?” I watch his face for any hesitation.
“It’s up to you, beautiful,” he says softly. “I’ll go and do whatever you want.”
“Well,” I tell him, “I want you to meet my mom and dad.”
“Then we’ll go.” His smile fills the screen. “Are you in bed?”
“I am.” I turn the phone for him to see me lying in bed.
“Are you wearing my shirt?’ he asks, propping up the pillows
“I am, and it smells just like you,” I tell him, smiling. “Four days, right?”
“Four days,” he repeats.
I try to cram as much work as I can in the days to make it go faster, but it doesn’t. Every day is worse than the next, and I swear I don’t even sleep on Friday night. I toss and turn, and when I finally fall asleep, I wake up forty minutes later only to see that it’s not even five a.m. At seven a.m., I give up on sleeping and go downstairs. I’m about to start my coffee when I hear a soft knock on the front door. I look down and see I’m just in Evan’s shirt, so I grab a towel from the laundry basket and wrap it around my top half as I make my way to the door. The knock coming again, this time a bit louder.