Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
“Doubt you’d have us any other way.”
Her laughter was soft as she went back to trimming some stems, though I could see the intensity she peered back at me with from the side. There was absolutely no teasing to her voice when she whispered, “And I doubt I’d be alive if you weren’t.”
A blade of pain cut through the middle of me. I knew exactly what she was referring to. As if I had stopped it? As if I’d been the reason she was still standing?
Old rage wound through me, though now, it was fresh. The blood on my hands still wet.
The mood must have gotten too deep because she smiled a bright, enchanting smile. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
Needed to see your face because you’re the only thing in this world that keeps me sane. Only thing that grounds me to reality when I feel it slipping.
“Just had run an errand and was in the area. Thought I’d stop in and say hi.” Would anyone fault me for the tiny fib?
She placed the stems she’d been trimming into a bucket. “I’m glad you did. It’s been quiet around here this afternoon.”
She rounded the counter and moved to place the bucket into an open slot in the middle section of the shop, then she ran her hands down the front of her dress to dry them.
Leave it to Raven to use her sexy as fuck dress as a hand towel.
“All right, I think I’m pretty much finished for the day. I need to shoot River a text to come pick me up.”
A frown instantly dented my brow. “Where’s your car?”
On a groan, she tipped her face toward the ceiling. “I dropped it off to get the oil changed this morning and they found like ten different things wrong with it, so they’re going to be keeping it overnight. River said to send him a text when I was ready, and he’d come pick me up.”
I shook my head. “No need for that. I can give you a lift.”
Wasn’t about to pass up a few more minutes with her.
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“Not a big thing, Raven.”
“Are you sure you aren’t the one who’s obsessed with me?” Her perfectly shaped eyebrow arched with the ribbing, though there was something in it that had me straightening and moving her direction.
This girl a lure. No way to resist.
I was nothin’ but a fool who reached out to take her by the chin. Those mesmerizing eyes grew so wide I was sure I could topple right into their depths. I leaned down as I murmured what I was pretty sure amounted to a threat. “You wouldn’t want to see me obsessed, Raven.”
Wouldn’t want to see me letting go. Giving into the insanity she conjured inside me.
Before I let myself delve any farther into the treachery, I released her and stepped back. “Now let’s get this place locked up and get you home.”
She seemed to be stuck in that spot for a moment, dazed, before she jumped into action. She went around the counter and tidied up a couple things before she headed into the back and returned with a small purse that she secured across her body. “Ready.”
I followed her out, and I grabbed the little sign, folded it, and set it inside before she locked the door behind us.
On instinct, my hand moved to the small of her back, not quite touching, though I still felt like I was being scorched as I guided her to the passenger door of my truck. I opened it and she climbed in, and I was quick to round to the driver’s side.
I took to the streets of Moonlit Ridge, making the few turns that would lead us in the direction of her house. The radio played some old country rock that I preferred, and the sun was just beginning to set, the sky a toil of blazing pinks and blues that whispered over Culberry Street.
Raven chatted about her day as we traveled, telling me about the different people who’d come into her shop, so casual and right where she sat in the passenger seat. The mood between us was easy the way it usually was, though there was always an undercurrent that was impossible to miss.
Five minutes later, I pulled into the drive and stopped at the front walkway.
We both hopped out and started for the house. Raven was pulling her keys out of her purse as she asked, “Do you want to stay for dinner? I was thinking I’d make a quick spaghetti. That and open a bottle of wine. My feet are killing me, and this girl is ready to relax.”
I chuckled as I ambled up the three steps onto the wraparound porch behind her. “Of course, your feet are hurting…wearing those heels around like they’re made for hiking.”