Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“Austin’s only a couple of hours away,” Grim replied. “I don’t understand why you moving means this has to end.”
“Somehow I don’t think you’ll want to spend all your time driving,” she said. “Besides, I’ll be working so I won’t be able to drop everything to see you.”
“I would respect your work. And I don’t mind a drive,” he insisted. “What I do mind is the thought of not seeing you again. I know it’s fast, but I feel something with you I’ve never felt with a woman.”
Her arms tightened around him. “I feel the same about you and Josh. But I have to go to Austin. I can’t back out of my job. It’s important to me.”
“Which is why I’ll drive to Austin,” he promised. “It’s not far away. Didn’t you say you were off this weekend?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I sometimes hang around in case Christa needs me, or I’ll try to work out at The Barn.”
“Come to the club with me and Josh.” He knew he should talk it over with Josh, but they were going to Subversion, and he couldn’t see them playing with anyone except Nicole. If she wasn’t there, he didn’t see a point in going. “If you don’t want to go, we’ll stay here with you.”
“I don’t want to ruin your plans.”
“Baby, we made plans to go to the club a long time before we met you. It’s a lifestyle club, so we go there to let off some steam.” He was trying to be delicate, but he wanted to make one thing plain to her. “I’m not interested in letting off steam with anyone but you. So if you can’t come, there’s no reason for us to go. It’s two days, Nicole. Two days out of time. Two days where we get to lock out the world and be who we are. I want those two days with you.”
She reached up to run her hand over his cheek. “I want it, too. Yes, I can go. But it’s probably the only time. I have to concentrate on work soon.”
He stared at her, taking in how her eyes had flecks of gold and her hair had deep tones of brown. He wanted her to trust him. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
She took a long breath, and when she brought her head up, there was a smile on her face. One he didn’t trust. “Not at all, and you’re right. I’m being inflexible. There’s no real reason this has to be completely over, though I don’t know how well I’ll do long distance.”
Was she placating him? “If there’s something you need to tell me, I’ll listen, and you should understand I won’t judge you.”
Her face flushed but she shook her head and stepped back. “I’m an open book. I’m not interesting, as your parents are apparently about to discover. I’m afraid I mostly can talk about the café and cleaning things. I’ve gotten good at cleaning things.”
He hated that she put some space between them, hated how she was smiling at him but he could see he’d upset her calm.
She seemed to shake it off, and she glanced in the mirror. “I wish I had some lip gloss. Where did I leave my purse?”
Shit. She might figure out something was missing. He’d seen Josh steal her keys. He wasn’t sure if he was going to look through her car or her motel room, but he knew she would notice if those keys weren’t in her bag.
Where the hell was Josh?
“Like I said, you look beautiful.” He turned her around and lowered his head to hers as he heard the back door open.
Relief flooded through his system. Josh was back and in the nick of time. He kissed Nic, holding her tight and giving Josh time to cover his tracks.
She couldn’t know what he’d done. She would run, and Grim would get his stupid heart crushed because she was the one. He knew it deep in his bones.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. I had to go to two different stores to get beer. The gas station was out, so I went to the grocer. You two find something to do?” There was a smirk on his face as he leaned against the doorjamb. His best friend looked completely innocent. Well, innocent when it came to stealing and putting his nose where she didn’t want it. Not so innocent when it came to his eyes going over every inch of Nicole’s body. “Though I’ll admit I liked your rope dress better. But I suppose you can’t wear it to dinner. If you do it, then the dads are going to want to do the same with Mom, and we need boundaries. So many boundaries.”
Nic’s jaw dropped. “You knew they would invite me to dinner?”
Josh shrugged. “You’re here at six p.m. on a Sunday, and there’s a seat at the table for you. So many of my friends have had Sunday dinner with my family. It’s no big deal. They’ll barely notice you’re there. They’ll ask a few polite questions and then my dads will discuss how the Cowboys played and what their playoff chances are, and Mom and Liv will talk about the latest book they’ve read. You might want to listen in. Those conversations can get wild.”