Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Brady laughed, the sound spilling out into the hallway and making me mirror his wide smile. “Jo, I want to see more of you. A lot more. All the time, and whenever you’re ready. So yes, I’ll definitely be here. And downstairs. At work.”
I rocked back on my heels, unsure if I wanted to prolong the moment or just get the hell out.
Oh, God. Leave now, before you say something stupid. Something else stupid.
“Oh my—” I swallowed hard. “Great. Okay, me too. I um… want to see more of you, too.”
“I’m glad we can agree on that,” Brady said, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he was trying to hold back more laughter.
Still, he didn’t move, and neither did I.
Did Brady want to say something more? Was he waiting for me to say something else?
But no… he was probably just being polite, just waiting for me to leave. Since Brady was the one who lived there, and I was the one who kept saying I needed to leave.
Shit.
Okay.
Get out.
And before either of us could say anything else or before I could embarrass myself any further, I simply gave a little wave and ran back down the stairs to the shop as quickly as I could.
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Brady
I leaned back in the creaky old desk chair and looked at the clock. I shoved a hand back through my short hair, slowly exhaling the breath I’d been holding in. The day hadn’t even really started yet, and I was already a nervous wreck.
After Joanne had left my apartment the afternoon before, every thought that had entered my head had revolved around her. The sense of comfort and relief I had felt when I’d opened the door to see Jo standing there. The way her eyes had sparkled when we’d been saying goodbye. The way her body had felt when I had pulled her close.
I had even sort of cried in front of Joanne, for God’s sake. That was only something a handful of people on the planet had seen—and all of them but Joanne had been football players, and all under much more stressful circumstances than what I was currently facing in Castle Falls.
I hadn’t realized over the past few weeks just how close I’d started to feel toward Joanne, but… it was sort of undeniable at this point.
My emotions hadn’t stopped there, though. That closeness had sparked something inside me that I’d never felt before. Something hot and needy and possessive. Something I hadn’t even realized I’d been missing.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
But was it right to have kissed Joanne like that?
It had certainly felt right. It had felt amazing, actually. Perfect. But was it right?
Had she really wanted it to happen that way?
I had been so caught up in the moment with the surge of emotions—first from finally knowing that Joanne and I were, in fact, in a good place, and then from the emotions I’d felt when I’d finally asked about my dad, finally asked the question I’d been holding inside for… forever.
I hadn’t intended to steamroll Joanne, but intentions didn’t matter that much, did they? What mattered was what she thought and felt, and I was on pins and needles waiting to find out.
I’d fooled myself into thinking I could come down to the office and get some work done while I oh-so-casually waited for her to come in, but now that I was actually here? With Joanne’s little Post-it notes and handwriting and initials all over the place?
Yeah, probably not the best idea if I had been looking to distract myself.
Now I was just watching and waiting, hoping that I hadn’t misread the situation too badly the day before.
I took a deep breath and counted to three. Then five. Then ten.
Yeah, that wasn’t working.
But I was going to have to find some way to stay calm, to not let my emotions take over like they had yesterday. To do my best to think and observe before I opened my mouth.
As soon as I heard the jingle of the bell above the front door, everything I’d been telling myself for the past hour flew out the window. No matter how many deep breaths I’d taken, how many times I’d resolved to just go with the flow and keep things simple, or how many scenarios I’d tried to prepare for, once I’d craned my neck around to see Joanne walk in, I couldn’t remember any of it.
Could barely remember my name. Could barely remember to breathe.
But at the first little wave and hint of a smile from her, none of that stuff mattered. Joanne was happy—or at least pretending to be happy—so I could finally relax a little.
It was going to be okay. We were going to have a good day.
Hopefully.
Maybe.
“Good morning,” Joanne said, her cheeks flushing pink at the first hint of eye contact once she was finally—finally—in the office with me. “I didn’t think you’d be down here this early or I would’ve brought coffee and bagels.”