Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Chris arched a brow. “Do I detect some sexual tension in the air?”
We both erupted at once, me with, “Hell no,” and Rowan, “Absolutely not.”
His cheeks were as flushed as mine must’ve been. I hadn’t seen him get that flustered often, but it made me feel unsettled. I wasn’t sure why.
“Not unless you count strangling your boss as foreplay,” I said, making it worse. Me and my big mouth.
Chris arched a brow. “That’ll do in some circles.”
“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Kendall said with a laugh.
No way I’d ever consider boning my boss—my super-pain-in-the-ass boss whom I loved to hate. It was admittedly the first stable job I had in probably ever, but did that make up for the fact that I wanted to push him off a tall cliff and revel in how reliant he’d become on me all at the same time? Evidently, I was losing it.
Kendall winked. “These two could become friends if they’d only allow themselves.”
“Wait, isn’t that crossing some line?” I replied. “Bosses aren’t supposed to consort with their employees, right?”
“It works for some relationships. Obviously, not all,” she said, and I wondered if she was referring to Naomi, who seemed none the wiser. “Makes for a funner environment, especially when you work so closely together.”
“Fun is overrated,” Rowan said with a wave of his hand.
“That should become your bumper sticker,” I replied, and everyone snickered.
“Bumper stickers and small towns go together, no?” Chris said. “Is your hometown a quaint little place someone would want to visit?”
“Why? Are you looking for a new vacation spot?” My laugh was hollow. “Hell no. Why do you think I needed to get out of there so badly?”
“What made you come to New York?”
“My best friend, Casey, was already in the city, and he needed a roommate.”
“Nice. But small towns certainly get a bad rep,” Chris mused.
“Unless it’s a Hallmark Christmas romance,” I said, and Kendall smiled.
“Big cities are almost too anonymous,” Chris pointed out. “It might be cozy to live in a place where everyone knows your name.”
“Not if you’re the resident gay kid.” I noticed Rowan frowning. I didn’t really want his sympathy, though, only a connection of some sort. So maybe, in some small way, he got it. Even having come from a big city.
Sometimes I’d felt like I might die in my hometown—and not only from boredom. I didn’t have it easy after I came out, so in a city this size, I blended right in. My sexuality wasn’t an issue and didn’t make me stand out. Casey’s gay awakening didn’t occur until he was in college, so in regard to location, he had an advantage.
“Ah, hadn’t considered that,” Chris said. “One of my exes had the same problem and is much happier in the city.”
“Well, here’s to finding your own happiness,” Kendall said, raising her diet soda, and everyone did the same.
After lunch was finished and Kendall and Naomi had left the premises, we started the painstaking process of bagging all the clothing for transport back to the designers.
Once I helped return the pieces to the showrooms, Rowan and I parted ways, him in a car and me on the subway. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and I would get a break for a couple of days. Though I was still smarting from the conversation at lunch. Sexual tension? Are you kidding me? Besides, no way would Rowan ever feel that way about someone like me. So why did I entertain the idea the entire way home? What would it even be like to date someone like him, let alone be intimate? It sent shivers over my skin, probably only because he was so easy on the eyes. His heart-shaped face, the broody gaze framed by that perfectly styled hair, and the self-possessed swagger made plenty of men turn their heads.
Casey and I treated ourselves to dinner at a neighborhood pizzeria, then crashed at home with a movie. When I glanced at my phone, I saw a missed call from my mother. I dialed her back right away.
“Is everything okay?” I asked as Casey shuffled off to his room.
“Everything’s fine. Just wanted to catch up.”
“Okay, good.” I blew out a breath. “How was your week?”
“It was busy. They had a burst pipe in the Millers’ basement to deal with. So your father’s already snoozing on the couch. You know how it is.”
“I do.” The Shanahan plumbing business was in high demand in our small town. Dad didn’t even advertise because word of mouth got him far, especially when customers raved about Dad’s fair prices, which sometimes pinched our budget. During a particularly hard year in my teens, Dad considered shuttering the business, but he was stubborn and determined, and we all tried pitching in after that.
Tried being the operative word.
Thankfully, my twin brothers, Connor and Michael, graduated from high school last year and were officially helping run the business. My older sister, Kathleen, kept the books while Mom ran the office, which was really just a spare room in the house.