Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
I guess I didn’t win that challenge.
I collapsed to the bed under the weight of my own body. Fox was careful not to follow and crush me. Instead, he slid his mouth up my back and to my shoulder, finding his way to my neck. It was soothing, in direct contrast to what had just transpired.
He rolled onto the bed next to me and kissed my forehead. “You good?”
“Are my legs still attached, because I don’t feel them yet.”
He smiled and brushed a lock of hair from my face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I yawned. “I feel so sleepy.”
His thumb stroked my cheek. “Rest. I want you with me for slow and sweet, not drifting off somewhere else.”
“I’m just going to close my eyes for a few minutes.”
He grinned. “Sure you are.”
CHAPTER 20
* * *
Life’s a Gamble
Fox
“Get rid of the smile.”
I didn’t have to look at Opal to know she was sporting a shit-eating grin when I walked into the office on Monday morning. Hell, she probably got here at the ass crack of dawn to prepare the interrogation questions she’d been formulating since seeing Josie and me Friday night.
“It’s not a crime to smile,” she said.
“It is in my place of business. You don’t like it, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
Undeterred, Opal crossed the office and parked herself on the corner of my desk.
“So…” She couldn’t contain it. A smile spread from ear to ear. “How was your weekend?”
I wasn’t about to let on that I’d spent three nights in a row in Josie’s bed. I wouldn’t even have come up for air this morning if we weren’t on deadline for this job. “Fine. What time is the electrical inspector getting here? And the alarm company too.”
“Nine and ten.” She checked out the paint job on her too-long claws. “Did you do anything special?”
I sat down at my desk and pulled open the top drawer without looking up. “You’re going to have to get your gossip somewhere else. I have shit to do, and my business is my business.”
“Maryanne Foley’s son is twenty now, you know. He’s in college, but he makes deliveries on the weekend.”
“And I need to know this why?”
She grinned. Apparently I’d just taken her bait. “If you really want people not to know your business, you should try changing up your restaurant orders once in a while.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Half of Laurel Lake knows you go to the Inn for the pork and mashed potatoes. So when not one, but two meals are delivered to Josie’s house, and one of them is your signature dish, word gets around.”
“You’re telling me Maryanne’s kid delivers Uber Eats, and he went home and reported Josie’s order to his mother, who picked up the phone and called you?”
“He mentioned to his mother that the woman who answered the door in the old Wollman place was hot. I saw Maryanne at church yesterday, and she asked me if Mrs. Wollman had died. We got to talking.”
I shook my head. “I gotta get the hell out of this town.”
“Where would you go?” Opal grinned. “Manhattan?”
I jabbed my finger into the air, pointing to her desk on the other side of the room. “Go.”
She hadn’t even made it back to her area when Porter walked in. His smile was also too big, too wide.
“Morning, boss.” He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Heard you had a banging weekend.”
I pointed to the door. “Out! Get the hell out of my office before I physically remove you.”
“Boy, someone’s cranky. After a weekend like you had, I’m usually in a good mood. Aren’t you, Opal?”
She cackled. “I can’t remember back that far.”
“So are you guys a couple now?” Porter asked. He held up his hands, surrender style. “I’m not asking because I’m hoping to make a move on Josie. But if you are, I figured I’d let you know the winery over in Woodbridge is having a festival next weekend. I took Meryl, the nurse I was dating, last year. They had music, wine tasting, and all kinds of games and vendors. We stayed at a bed and breakfast down the road. It was a nice time. Romantic. Might be cool to take your new girlfriend somewhere outside of Laurel Lake, especially since you like your privacy and all.”
I took a deep breath. “Run over to the school jobsite and pick up the scissor lift. You need to install hurricane brackets on all the gabled ceilings today before we close it up tomorrow.”
Porter tapped two fingers to his forehead in a salute. “You got it, boss.”
At least he went away. If only Opal was that simple. Maybe I should cut this office into two small ones so I wouldn’t have to deal with her daily tongue wagging? While I mulled over that thought, I made the mistake of glancing over. Opal’s eyes were still on me, still glittering gossip. Luckily, her phone rang, and she got busy putting in a rush order for supplies we needed delivered to a jobsite.