Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
When the hell was the last time a woman had asked him out? He couldn’t remember. Maybe never. Especially one as gorgeous and glowy as this one. He liked her. Sure, he was attracted to her, but he could ignore physical attraction. He was attracted to her in a way he might never have felt before. Something about this woman pulled him in. And she had asked him out. Him. She obviously hadn’t figured out he was a complete weirdo, and he might be able to hide it for at least a couple of days. “Yeah. I’d like that a lot. There’s a place called Trio.”
Her eyes had lit up. “Yes, I saw it earlier.”
He was going to be bold. He was never bold. “Seven o’clock tonight sound good?”
“Yes. That sounds perfect. I’ll meet you there,” she said with a smile. “And my hair will be shampoo free thanks to you.”
He kind of liked her any way she came, but he thought saying that might scare her off. Damn. He could learn. Max Harper had started trying to teach him how to blend into what he called the “boring world,” and some of his tutoring included punching his arm when he said stuff that was “too intense.” It might be working. He suddenly remembered she’d come here for a reason. “Oh, and if you want to ask about your relative, there’s a festival going on in town. Everyone knows everyone else here. You can ask around.”
“That won’t be seen as rude?” she asked.
He chuckled. “As long as you ask politely no one will mind. This place is different. I know a lot of places say that, but it’s true here in Bliss. The people are great. But if someone tries to get you to take the beet, you should probably run. Cassidy thinks she can cut the dirt taste out with rotgut whiskey. Then it tastes like dirt and potential death. I don’t care. The aliens can take me. Oh, and don’t worry about the murder rate. It’s overblown.”
“What?”
He walked out feeling something he was sure he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He was looking forward to the day.
* * * *
Sylvan Dean looked over the fairgrounds and wondered at the vague panic he felt.
He liked Bliss. He felt…right…here. But he was going to graduate in a few months and then he was supposed to go back to Dallas and work for his brother. It was the deal they’d cut. Jake would pay for his college and he and Hale would handle living expenses, and at the end he would come out of it with a business degree in marketing and a job at his brother’s company.
It was a sweet deal, and he genuinely loved his oldest brother, but he wasn’t sure if he left that Hale would come with him.
He shook off the feeling because it wasn’t something he needed to deal with now. He had lots of time. He wouldn’t graduate for months and months. Live in the moment. That was his motto.
So planning for the future was weird for him, and yet it seemed like the future was all around him. There were kids running all over the place, giggling and bringing their energy to the world. The amount of throuples was somewhat shocking.
He counted three in his line of sight alone.
Max, Rye, and Rachel Harper were playing in the snow with their kids. Well, Max was being used as a jungle gym by their two kids, and Rye and Rachel were looking on indulgently.
Cameron Briggs was standing with the wife he shared with Rafael Kincaid. Laura Niles handed Cam a hot cup of coffee while Rafe held their daughter, Sierra, in his arms and let her look up at the big brightly colored Christmas tree. The girl was three and stared up with wide eyes at all the pretty ornaments.
The third trio included his boss who owned and ran the appropriately named Trio. Zane Hollister operated the small-town pub with his wife Callie, while Nate Wright ran the sheriff’s office. Both Nate and Zane had a toddler boy in their arms. Their twin sons. They had names, but Van wasn’t sure what they were. There were a lot of kids and they all had names.
The funny thing was Hale would remember. Hale was good at stuff like that.
“Hey, can I get a coffee?” Henry Flanders walked up to the booth Zane ran every festival to represent his pub. The booth contained a pared-down bar that served some of Trio’s most popular winter drinks and treats.
Van felt his eyes narrow because coffee was served everywhere and for way cheaper. “Coffee isn’t on the menu. I can serve you a virgin Irish coffee.”
“Which is just coffee,” Henry pointed out.
“A coffee that costs as much as an Irish coffee,” Van countered.