Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“How excited is my girl about her birthday?”
“She asked if she could have cake for breakfast tomorrow.” I smile when she laughs.
“Are you giving her cake for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Um, no,” I deny with a shake of my head.
“What was her second choice?”
“My pancakes and Denver’s scrambled eggs. If he can come over to make them for her.”
“I’m sure he will,” she says knowingly, and I shrug. “When are you two going to—”
“Lu,” I cut her off with a quick shake my head.
“What? I see it. Everyone sees it.” She tosses out her arms dramatically.
“You’re delusional.”
“No, you’re oblivious. That man is in love with you.”
“Seriously, this again?” She’s been saying the same thing for the last four years and tries to convince me I’m blind to Denver’s feelings for me. I’m not; I just know we are friends—kind of. He’s not waiting around for me like some hero in a romance novel. He’s dated a few different women since he’s been in town, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never actually seen him with anyone. Then again, I don’t get out much.
“Well, it’s true.”
“It’s not.”
“It is,” she continues to argue.
“I hate to burst your bubble, but he’s never been anything more than friendly toward me, Lu.”
“That’s because you’ve never given him any indication you’re ready to start dating again.”
Okay, so I don’t want to admit it, but maybe she has a point. I haven’t given anyone a sign I’m ready to start dating again. I don’t even know if I’m ready now. Gabe was all I knew for years, and I loved what we had. It was easy. Being with him was easy, because he was my best friend. He knew me, understood how awkward I was… or am. Dating someone new would be like discovering a whole new scary world. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I should probably start though. I want to find someone to spend time with. I miss all the things that go along with having a significant other—the cuddling, the talking, the sex. But I could live without the sex, for the most part.
“Don’t you have stuff to do?” I ask when I feel my cheeks become warm.
“Nope, I have the whole day off.”
“Liar, you never have a whole day off.”
“This is true.” She sighs. “I would have had the day off, but Barry called in and wanted to see me about his bill.”
“You could have let Ben handle it.”
“You know Ben. He’d lose his temper and I’d end up at the sheriff’s station, talking to your dad.”
“True.” Ben is a big teddy bear most of the time, but when he’s poked, he tends to fly off the handle without much provocation. “You might not need to work, but I do,” I say, figuring that will force her to give up trying to convince me, even for a little while.
“Fine, but one day you’re going to come to me and tell me that you and Denver are together, and when that day comes, I’m going to try not to say I told you so.”
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes at her.
“What time is the party tomorrow?”
“Everyone’s coming over around five for pizza and cake.”
“Do you want Ben and me to bring anything?”
“Just yourselves,” I say, then turn as a boat starts to pull in. When I see the boat, my stomach dips when it totally shouldn’t be dipping.
Denver’s boat is unmistakable. It’s white with a thick lavender stripe around it. Lyra picked the lavender color when Denver had it repainted a year ago. I thought he was crazy when he asked her to choose what color to paint it. I also thought for sure that she was going to pick pink, but she didn’t; she chose lavender. Not much better than pink, but he didn’t back out when she told him what color. And really, the boat looks kinda cool with the lavender stripe and the black curly lettering of his ship’s name, the Aurora.
“Look what the tide brought in,” Lu says, grinning from ear to ear.
I fight another eye roll then go to the shed and turn up the heat inside, since it’s close to freezing. I drop my purse and grab my receipt book. When I get to Denver’s boat, he’s standing at the edge talking to Lu, but as soon as he sees me, his eyes meet mine. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I repeat, as I tuck a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear. “You need fuel?” At my stupid question, he grins, making me feel like a total dork, because there’s no other reason for him to come here except to get fuel for his boat.
“Yeah.” He tucks his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, a pair that is molded to his thighs in all the right places. The dark thermal he has on today is also snug, showing off his muscular arms, the wide expanse of his chest, and the tightness of his abs underneath. He’s beautiful in a masculine way, with a strong, powerful jaw that is never completely clean of scruff, dark, thick, wavy hair, and goldish-green eyes that are surrounded by lashes that make me jealous. Honestly, he looks like he was sent down to earth from heaven for the sole purpose of testing the women of earth’s willpower. I’m sure we’re all failing miserably. “Is my girl with your mom or mine today?” he asks, and my chest feels warm. I love that he calls Lyra his girl.