Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Lars nodded. “It’s solid with a lot of character. You’d love it.”
“Decide if you’re selling yet?” asked Tore.
“No,” I said. “Not yet.”
He saluted me with the tongs. “We can wait. Whenever you’re ready. Just be sure to call me first.”
I nodded.
“Be great if I could do a walk-through sometime, though. If that’s okay?”
“Um, sure.”
As usual, the whole idea of selling filled me with... I don’t know. What’s the opposite but sort of the same as butterflies in your stomach? Selling the house would set me up financially. Then there were the feelings of nausea to consider. Anytime I thought about letting go of the place, I kind of wanted to puke. I don’t know. The best thing to do would be to ignore it all. End of story.
I toed off my flip-flops, unbuttoned my denim shorts, and pulled my black tee off over my head. Of course my tee caught on my ponytail and I had to struggle to get free. Such style and grace. When I finally liberated myself, Lars was staring at my face with his jaw set and lips in a thin straight line. The man seemed to almost be in physical pain.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
After checking that my black halter-neck one-piece swimsuit had all of the essentials covered, I turned to Tore, who gave me a wide grin. This time he waved a spatula at me. I checked my swimsuit once again, just to be sure. The neckline did plunge, but it was nothing especially risqué. And yet I had the strangest feeling that it was neither the round of my stomach nor the cellulite on my thighs that had drawn Lars’s attention. Nope. It had to be the boobs.
And still, his gaze continued to remain glued to my face. Interesting. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one who had occasional issues ogling my friends. At least I had the social skills and subterfuge to keep it on the down low.
“You got sunscreen on, Susie?” asked Tore with an even wider grin. “Just yell if you need a hand. I’m sure Lars would be more than happy to help.”
Lars’s gaze jumped to his brother and narrowed with a look that promised all sorts of violence. Fratricide, it seemed, was the word of the day. Their heated staring competition continued on for quite some time.
“I’m fine, thanks.” The “idiots” that I added at the end was almost silent, but not quite.
Shu snorted and picked up her glass of wine.
Isaac bit back a smile and pulled out a vape.
“Lentil patties are done and looking delicious,” said Tore. “Steak is up next for the carnivores.”
Mateo and James were getting out of the pool as I was getting in. We exchanged greetings as I waded into the shallow end. Oh, so good. Cool and refreshing after the warmth of the sun. I drifted my fingers over the sparkling water before swimming the length to hang out at the deep end. Which was where Lars joined me. Of course he was even more attractive with his wet hair all slicked back and water beading on his skin. Any hard nipples on my part were fortunately hidden below the waterline. That was the problem with noticing someone in a sexual sense. It was so hard to stop. The libido should really come with an off-and-on switch.
We rested our arms on the edge of the pool side-by-side.
“Sorry about that,” he mumbled.
I looked down my nose at him. He deserved all of the judgment in all of the land. Because if anyone was going to embarrass me publicly, it would be me. Thank you very much.
“He’s been giving me shit about you for days now. He calls you wifey and brings you up constantly. He won’t stop.”
“I agree that’s a terrible nickname. But surely you can rise above his nonsense. You’re five years older than me, Lars. How are you not more mature?”
He frowned. “I honestly don’t know. I thought I was until this.”
“Are you saying I’m your weakness?”
The growly noise he made in reply was a total turn-on.
I decided to just cut to the chase. “Is there something wrong with my swimsuit?”
“No.”
“Shu is sitting at the table in a string bikini looking like a snack. But it’s my side boob that’s the issue?”
For a long moment he stayed silent. Then he gritted out, “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because there isn’t a part of me wondering if Shu’s destined to be my future spouse.”
“Holy shit.” I stared at him stunned. “You think the divorce certificate might be real now? When did this happen?”
“I don’t know, I just... I can’t explain it. How it came into existence. How it got into that wall. None of it.”
“Me neither.”
“I keep going back and forth in my head and...fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“We always got along fine, but we never used to pay each other that much attention,” he said. “Then I started working on your house and we found that thing. It’s like it’s changed how I see you. How I think about you. Even if I don’t actually believe it’s real.”