Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“I’ve been too preoccupied waiting to hear from you to have sex.”
“No shit,” Ace rumbles somewhere in the background.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Major came to your house this morning?” she goes on.
“Because it was nothing.”
“Nothing? Nothing at all?” She sounds disappointed. “He said you were upset.”
“I’d just gotten the big brother call that was seriously out of line.”
“That’s what I figured. Told him it was most likely a call from one of your brothers or cousins. Major was worried.”
“He is jealous of my date.”
“Oh, I know that. He was a bit… tense last night.”
“He’s a typical hot-blooded man. He doesn’t want me for months, then gets mad when someone else shows interest.”
“That’s not the way it works.”
“It’s not? Need I remind you of how Ace flipped his shit when he saw a picture of you leaning over the bar in a shirt that showed skin?”
“Look how that worked out.”
“Ace was not-so-secretly in love with you. That pushed the Neanderthal into gear.”
“We’ve talked about this before. Maybe all Major needed was a push.”
“For month—months, I’ve been sending him signals I was interested. He was not. I moved on.”
“Did you though? How was the date with Mal?”
“It was great. He treated me like a woman he wanted to be on a date with. We got on well. And then you know what happened with that kiss cam. He was a total gentleman after the attention moved on from us.”
“So, basically, you aren’t going out with him again.” She reads right through me. “Because not one of those things sounds like electrifying chemistry. The kind of chemistry that makes your heart flip whenever his name is mentioned.”
Major’s face pops in my head, causing my heart to flip as she describes. “No, I doubt we’ll go out again.” To my horror, my voice hitches and tears cloud my vision.
“Oh, honey.” There’s a rustling on the line. “Achilles, we need to get Tom’s. Jewls needs me.”
God, I love my best friend.
“No, you don’t. I’m good,” I chirp, swiping the lone tear trailing my cheek. “Really, Tom’s probably sending me home after the dinner crowd finishes.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, babe, enjoy your fiancé.”
“Stop by the label tomorrow and we’ll do lunch? Charlie can even crash.”
At the mention of Charlie, I laugh. Charlie works at MJ Labels with Harley and is easily one of the craziest women I know. She’s blunt, sarcastic, loud, and unapologetic. She’s also amazing, funny, and one-of-a-kind.
“You bet, I’ll message you when I’m on my way.”
“Love you, Jewls. Hang in there. Major may have taken his time, but he’s finally seeing what he’s been missing.”
“I’m not sure it’s what I want anymore. If it takes another man kissing me to get his attention, that’s not exactly an encouraging sign.”
“Tomorrow, lunch… We’ll work through this.”
“See you then.” I disconnect and take a deep breath. Major’s scent fills the air and without looking, I know he’s near. “How long have you been listening?”
Strong arms link around my waist, his warm breath coating my ear. “I was an idiot,” he whispers low, “and I’m sorry for making you think I wasn’t interested.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Already said I was an idiot.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s all I’ve got.”
“So, not much has changed?”
“Everything has changed.”
“How?”
He spins me to him, framing my face gently. Regret and sorrow are shadowing his eyes. Exactly as Janice mentioned when she spotted him last Friday morning. She was right, it’s more than him wanting to apologize for being a jerk at the station. There’s something deeper on his mind.
“You work every night this week?”
I nod.
“Friday night, we’ll talk.”
“Why wait until Friday? Say what you have to say now.” The squeak in my voice is whiny, even to my ears.
His lips curl as his gaze lights with amusement. “You should have thought about that when you hightailed your ass here, volunteering to take a shift. I believe I told you this morning we had plans tonight. Now we both have to wait until Friday.”
I narrow my eyes, not finding the hilarity in the situation. “Don’t try to pull an Ace and boss me around. You do, you’ll find yourself knocking on an empty apartment door.”
“You ghost me, I’ll find you again. I’ll always find you.”
I can’t help the shiver that races through me at the determined intention in his voice. All self-preservation flies out the window and I cave. “Fine, we’ll talk Friday night. But no shenanigans until then.”
“Shenanigans?”
“No more jealous outbursts, wild confessions, or bossing me around.”
A slow smile spreads across his mouth before he brushes his lips across mine.
“And no more kissing!”
“No kissing?” He arches his eyebrow.
“No kissing! I don’t know if I want to kiss you again until after I hear what you have to say.”
His expression changes to say ‘you’re so full of shit’, but he doesn’t call me out.
“Let’s get you fed before you pass out.” He takes my hand, guiding me back to the bar.