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)
Fox glanced up, probably feeling ten eyes burning into him. He locked gazes with me and smiled. But the corners of his lips quickly fell when he took in the other people at my table. He shook his head and closed his eyes.
“You better not be trying to pretend you don’t see us!” Opal yelled across the restaurant.
For a second, I thought Fox might make a run for it. But after he finished talking to the hostess, he walked over. The look on his face was something I might expect when a man walked to take his place in front of a firing squad. He did not look thrilled.
“What are you doing here?” Opal asked. “Last time I looked, it was Thursday. Pork tenderloin is your Tuesday meal.”
Fox’s eyes slid to me. “Came to get a piece of cheesecake, since I can’t bake one for shit.”
“You don’t eat sweets.”
I smiled, touched that he’d remembered what I’d told him about my dad using his homemade cheesecake as a peace offering. I wiggled my fingers. “Hi.”
We shared a wordless smile, and a minute later the hostess walked over with a brown paper bag.
“Here you go, Fox.”
“Thanks, Syl.”
Fox didn’t seem to know how to handle himself in front of the crew I was seated with. He was uncharacteristically awkward, which I found endearing. He nodded toward the door. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” I put my napkin on the table and looked to four beaming women. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
Fox and I walked into the empty lobby. Once we were out of sight, I pointed my eyes to the bag in his hand. “Hankering?”
He shoved his empty hand into his pocket and looked down. “I was hoping to bring it over when you got home later, if it’s not too late. I owe you an apology.”
I wanted nothing more than to spend some time with him. A few days had felt like forever. But I also recognized that a quick fix now would only make breaking the addiction harder in the long run.
I smiled sadly. “Fox, you don’t have anything to be sorry about. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been clear since the first time we met that you weren’t looking for more than what we had. And quite honestly, it was the absolute last thing I was looking for, too.”
Fox’s eyes seared into mine. “Sometimes what you’re looking for comes when you’re not looking at all.”
It was like someone took a bicycle pump to my deflated heart and pumped it back up again. Hope bloomed inside my chest. Though there was still fear there, plenty of it, and I needed what he meant spelled out. “What are you saying?”
Fox reached for my hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. “Text me when you get in. Let’s talk without an audience.”
I hadn’t thought we had one, but Fox lifted his chin causing me to turn. All four of my dinner companions were out of their chairs, leaning to one side of the table to spy into the lobby. One head on top of another, they looked like a totem pole. Seeing us turn and catch them, they all scurried back to their seats. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I shouldn’t be too much longer. We’re finished with dinner.”
Fox nodded. “Safe drive.”
CHAPTER 27
* * *
You are My Sunshine
Fox
I was sitting on Josie’s front porch when she pulled into the driveway.
Almost an hour had passed since I got back from the Laurel Lake Inn, and I’d grown impatient sitting at home. I also wanted to make sure she didn’t change her mind and blow me off.
I stood as she got out of the car and lifted the bottle of wine in my hand. “Brought something to wash down the cheesecake with.”
She smiled, and the miserable mood I’d been in for the last few days was forgotten. When I wasn’t around her, it felt like every day was gray and cloudy. She made the sky blue and the sun shine, and I didn’t want to think about what that meant anymore. I just wanted to bask in the warmth.
Josie opened the door and tossed her keys on the counter as I followed her in. All of the cabinets were open, and the kitchen smelled like paint.
“You do that yourself?”
She nodded. “The wood was all chipped inside, and there were stains on the shelves.”
I glanced around. “It looks good. The place has come a long way. Your flooring should be in next week.”
“Oh great. Thank you.”
The wine and cheesecake were still in my hands. Josie pointed her eyes to the bag. “I skipped dessert at the restaurant to save room for that. Are you going to share it? Because it looks like you might not want to.”
“Grab two forks, wiseass.”