Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“You okay?”
“Great,” he mutters, and I smile as I follow Winter into their home.
Since I’ve been here before, I’m not surprised by just how beautiful it is. With exposed brick and modern furniture, the space would scream “wealthy bachelor pad”—if the fridge wasn’t covered in kid artwork and there wasn’t little-girl paraphernalia scattered here and there. The bright-pinks and purples stand out in stark contrast against the blacks, grays, and browns the space is decorated in.
When we reach the island that has five leather-topped barstools tucked under the floating edge, Winter lets me go, pulls out one of the stools, and climbs up onto it.
“Those are for you,” she says, pushing a plate toward me, and I look down at the stack of chocolate chip pancakes on a black plate with a gold edge.
“These look delicious.”
“Try one!” She bounces on her bottom.
“Maybe we should warm them up,” Miles suggests, joining us at the island.
“It’s okay.” I pick up the fork, and Winter watches me closely while I take a bite and chew.
“Well?” she asks before I even swallow.
“I think these are the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life,” I tell her, covering my mouth. Grinning proudly from ear to ear, she slides off her stool, her task of confirming she did a good job complete and obviously ready to move on to something else.
“Do you have your cell?” At that question from Miles, I pull my eyes off of Winter, who has wandered across the room, and meet his gaze. “I wanna download the app for the elevator so you’ll be able to come and go while I’m gone.”
“Sure.” I take it out of my bag and unlock the screen.
“You don’t have to eat any more of those,” he says quietly, glancing down at the plate as he slides my cell from my hand.
“If you try to take them, I will stab you with my fork. Chocolate and carbs are my favorite.”
“No need to get violent.” He holds up a hand and walks to the opposite side of the island, leaning back against the counter but still facing me.
I study him as I eat, his head bent, his fingers flying over the screen of my cell. I don’t know if it’s the early-morning light or if it’s some new awareness I have, since the brain fog of my breakup has started to clear, but I don’t think I ever noticed the way his dark hair has a slight curl, making it look naturally messy. Or how full his lips are. Or just how attractive the scruff covering his square jaw is.
I for sure never noticed how hot he is. I mean, of course I knew he was good-looking, but before today, all thoughts of him were abstract. Like those guys you see in magazine ads and think, Wow, he’s handsome, but it’s just an observation and nothing more, because that man does not exist outside the lens of someone else’s camera.
“Emma.” Blinking, I come out of my thoughts, finding his eyes on me. “Did you hear me?”
“No, sorry.” My cheeks warm. “I totally spaced. I haven’t had enough coffee this morning.”
“I just asked how much it costs for the zoo,” he says, going to the coffee pot on the counter and taking a mug down from the cupboard above it.
“Oh.” I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”
“I’m not letting you pay to take Winter to the zoo.” He frowns at me over his shoulder as he pours coffee into the cup.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“I’m still not letting you pay, and I’m going to give you some cash for helping me out today.”
“And I’ll give it right back to you. I’m helping out a friend by hanging with his daughter who I also adore. I’m not your babysitter.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” he mutters, then asks, “Milk, sugar?”
“Both,” I whisper and watch him put way too much of each in the cup, then take out a spoon from the drawer below and stir.
When he brings the cup over to me, I grasp it in both hands. “Thank you.” My nose should not sting from someone making me a cup of coffee, but it does. Then again, I can’t remember the last time anyone did anything for me without me asking.
“The app for the elevator is pretty easy,” he says as I take a sip of coffee that is too sweet and too creamy but somehow still perfect. “When you get to the doors, you just press this button.” He shows me which one on the screen. “The doors will open, and when you get on, you press the floor.”
“Okay.” I take my phone back when he hands it to me. “But what if there’s a power outage?”
“There’s not going to be a power outage.”