Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Is that invitation to come over still available?
The response was almost immediate.
Always.
I swallowed and then put the car in drive. Here goes nothing.
I’d never been to Whitt’s place before, but he’d given me the address while we’d been texting as an invitation to come over whenever I wanted. The thought of doing that had crossed my mind many times, but I’d never given in to that urge. Our situationship was good the way it was. Why was I suddenly complicating it? All because Bailey had called? I’d been dealing with that for so long it shouldn’t have bothered me. And still it had.
His house was a new build on the south side of town. Not that far from where I’d been showing houses. It had immaculately cut green grass, even in the blazing August heat. Trees in the front provided some shade. Comfy porch furniture sat in front of the brick house. I passed through the open stone archway and knocked on the black iron door.
Whitt appeared a minute later in very familiar lounge shorts and a gray T-shirt. “Hey, this is a surprise.”
“Hey.”
He opened the door all the way for me. I hesitated on the threshold.
Was I making the right decision here? I didn’t feel like I could come back from this. All those walls that I’d built up between us. I’d spent months denying myself, just to wind up here anyway.
I didn’t have to walk inside. I could stand on this doorstep in the evening heat and talk. I could…turn around and get back in my car and ruin everything. Except I couldn’t do that. Not with his big blue eyes all lit up at the sight of me. That smile, unusually bright. I’d done that. I made him happy. A thing that I found myself enjoying and wanting to continue to do.
Maybe there was an inkling of selfishness in there, too. I wanted to step inside. I wanted to want to step inside. I hadn’t felt that in so long.
“Do you want to come in?” he asked almost hesitantly.
“Sure. Yeah,” I said, realizing that I’d been standing there awkwardly. “Thanks.”
I stepped into the house, and Whitt closed the door behind me. It was everything I’d expected. Hardwood floor, giant open floor plan, carefully selected furniture, and a massive television over the fireplace. The whole place screamed Whitt. Minimalist, clean, everything in its place.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come by.”
“I was nearby.”
Which wasn’t the reason I’d stopped by at all. Work had nothing to do with this.
“How did your showing go? Did they like the house?”
“Yeah. They’re bringing their daughter to look at it tomorrow.”
“That’ll be good for you. Another sale.”
I brushed my hair off of my face. “I don’t really want to talk about work.” The words fell abruptly out of my mouth, but I just couldn’t bullshit. My barometer for small talk was nonexistent on a good day. And today wasn’t a good day.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “Something on your mind?”
I sighed. “It’s been a long day.”
Whitt leaned back against the kitchen island and waited for me to explain further. I didn’t know how he knew that I needed the space, but he clearly did.
After a minute, he finally asked, “Did something happen?”
I blew out a harsh breath and ran a hand down my face. “Just a lot on my mind.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” I said with a stilted laugh.
“Hey,” he said, taking my hand and drawing me closer. “You can talk to me if you need to talk. You look like someone kicked your puppy.”
“I don’t have a puppy.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You know what I mean.”
God, I wasn’t ready for this. I couldn’t spew all of my family drama to him. Yeah, he didn’t have the perfect family or anything, but it was too much. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted things to be light and easy between us. Flirty and fun and…uncomplicated.
“Maybe this is just a booty call.” I tried for levity.
Whitt pursed his lips. “As much as I want you, I don’t think that’s why you’re here. You could have come over at any point for that, and you never have. What’s going on?”
What could I say? My life was a disaster, and the minutes when I could pretend it wasn’t with him made it better. I was barely coasting, and I didn’t know how to fix the hole I’d dug myself into. Sometimes, it felt like my entire world was falling apart, and I was clinging to the surface to keep afloat.
I stared up into his earnest face and knew I couldn’t say any of that. I turned my back on him. This was hard enough for me without looking into his pretty face. What if I saw pity there? What if he thought less of me? God, I wasn’t the type of girl to care what anyone thought. I was fearless. I was strong. I was fiercely independent. And I hated myself for every one of those adjectives right now.