Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“You’re not.” I can tell from her expression that she has questions—so many questions that she’s too good of a friend to ask right now. “You have a lot on your plate. The defense, job applications, and now a possible proposal? Just give yourself room to breathe. Give your feelings some space to be before you judge them. If Easton really wants a chance to talk the past out with you, he’ll wait.”
“I don’t want to make a choice I’ll regret.” I swirl my bourbon in my glass, wishing my stomach would cooperate so I could chug it. The oblivion of a good drunk would be welcome about now. “Tell me about your day. How are things going with the new girl at work?”
“Work is fine and my day was boring. Don’t change the subject.”
I cut my eyes away and sigh.
Teagan squeezes my wrist gently. “When I worked surgery, we had to tell patients that they weren’t to make any major decisions post-op. I’m your nurse and I’m telling you to treat yourself as a post-op patient until further notice. No decisions.” She gives me a sad smile. “If I had to guess, I’d say you’ve been so secretive about this whole Easton thing that you don’t even know how you feel. Figure that out first and don’t make any decisions in the meantime.”
I smirk. “Does that also mean I can’t operate heavy machinery?”
She gives a pointed look to my barely touched glass. “Not for the reasons I anticipated when you walked in the door, but maybe this calls for a sleepover. I miss Carter while he’s at the fire station. You can keep me company.”
“Deal,” I whisper. “But I’m emotionally exhausted, so don’t take it personally if I fall asleep before ten.”
“I’ll make your bed.”
Easton
“Did you know your sister is seeing someone?” I ask Carter as he finishes his last set of squats Monday morning.
He grunts. “I think there’s a guy from school she goes out with sometimes. Nothing serious, though.”
“Does he make her happy?”
“Never met the guy. She doesn’t really talk about him, but I assume he’s decent enough.”
Decent enough. Nah, I’m not gonna step aside for decent enough. “He can’t be that good if she hasn’t brought him around.”
Carter freezes then slowly reracks the barbell before turning to me. “Why?”
His glare could knock a lesser man over, but I just shrug. “Because if he’s not the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to her, if he doesn’t treat her like an absolute goddess, I’m going to do everything in my power to convince her she should be with me and not him.”
The ire in his eyes morphs into shock. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, Carter. You know I’ve had a thing for Shay since she was sixteen.”
“Since you were a fucking college student drooling over my baby sister. Yeah, I remember.”
I nod to the barbell in the rack. He has one hand wrapped around the knurling, squeezing like I imagine he’d like to do to my neck. “You gonna let me squat that or just grope it all day?” He scowls, but I grin slowly. “She’s not a baby anymore, and you don’t fucking scare me.”
“She’s not like the girls you’re used to, East.” He steps away from the rack and helps me add another bumper plate to each side. “If you’re hoping to fuck her and walk away, save yourself the beating, because I won’t let that happen.”
I duck under the barbell, position it on my shoulders, and walk it off the rack. “Who said I want to walk away?”
“Are you serious right now?”
“I have feelings for her, Carter. Deal with it.” I rep out a set of five and rerack the weight.
When I turn back to him, he’s studying me. His eyes flash but he sighs. He scans the gym around us before stepping closer to me. “If you hurt her—if you make my sister cry one fucking tear—I’ll punch you in the nuts so hard you’ll feel them when you gargle. You get me?”
If I hurt her? Too late for that. But I smile and smack Carter on the shoulder. “She’s grown, C. Thirty, last I checked. I don’t think she needs her brothers to play guard dog anymore.” And the last thing I’m going to do is hurt her again.
Shay
“We’ll fly you in on that Thursday morning, and the interview will take place that afternoon. I’ll make sure they give you early check-in at your hotel. That way you don’t have to walk into the interview straight from such a long flight,” Sally says. She’s the administrative assistant for the English department at Emmitson University, and she’s been the point person for every portion of my application process, including the virtual class visit the hiring committee did with my American lit class last week. Apparently they liked what they saw, because now they want to fly me out for an in-person interview—the final step in the hiring process.