Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Then we’ll get them.
Were you lost without me today? I sent a smiley face, so he knew I was teasing.
He didn’t respond right away, and the dots didn’t light up. But then they appeared, his message popping up instantly afterward. Actually, I was…
Eight
Derek
Emerson brought lunch and set it on the table before she returned to my office so she could eat alone and work on whatever needed her attention. She never joined us, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was uncomfortable around the guys or she just wanted there to be some distance.
I took my food into the office and sat on the couch across from her.
She looked up from her salad, surprised I was there. “It’s not a burger, but I can’t eat too many of those…” She smiled then pushed around the contents of her salad, mixing it with the dressing.
“Next time.” I didn’t get one either. Otherwise, I’d have to hit the weights harder every morning, and I already pushed myself to the limit as it was. I couldn’t outrun my fork. It was no surprise that my dad was still in great shape because he didn’t have to work out as hard to keep his physique since he chose to uphold a strict diet.
“How was your day yesterday?” We’d talked for a bit on the drive to the office, but we’d spent most of that time talking about her father. “You didn’t starve, right?”
I chuckled. “We skipped lunch, actually.”
“Really?” she asked in surprise. “So, when I’m not here, you’ll literally go hungry?”
“Yes. So, we need to rethink that vacation time off I offered.”
She chuckled. “If I left for a week, I’d come back to three corpses in the lab…”
“Two. I’d eat them.”
She chuckled again, the color moving into her cheeks.
I wasn’t a funny guy, so I always felt a sense of accomplishment when I made her laugh. The last few times we interacted, it’d been a little awkward since she’d asked me to sign those books and I’d basically told her she was the only person who knew me. I’d been saying a lot of stupid shit lately—and I needed to stop.
It was fucking impossible.
I used to be a man of few words, but now I couldn’t shut up.
She took a few bites of her salad. “Going to keep your appointment with Dr. Collins tomorrow?”
I was doing a lot of things for her that I normally wouldn’t do, like seeing a therapist and agreeing to a book tour. She wasn’t changing me. I chose to change for her. And since the changes made me feel better instead of worse, I continued to do it. “Yes.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“But I think I should see him alone.”
She stilled at the statement, raising her head to regard me.
“It’s not you. I just…think it should be only us from now on.” I knew he would ask me about other aspects of my life, and since he’d grilled me about my relationship with Emerson before, I was afraid of what he would get out of me this time.
“That’s great,” she said. “I’m glad you feel comfortable. All I needed was to give you a nudge.”
I nodded and took another bite of my food.
My phone started to vibrate. so I pulled it out of my pocket with the intention of silencing it. But since it said Dad on the screen, I answered right away. I put the phone to my ear and left my lunch on my lap. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, little man.” We hadn’t spoken much since that tense conversation at the cabin, and it was still a little awkward. “You got a minute?”
“Yes. What do you need?” My dad had never been too busy for me at any point in my life, so I would never be too busy for him. He was the one who would take time out of his busy schedule to take me to the batting cages or the museum, when Valerie didn’t work at all and could barely spare a few seconds.
“I’m in the lab right now, and one of my machines broke down. I called the manufacturer, and they can’t get someone out here for two weeks…even though Mom pulled all the strings she could. Any chance you could come down and give it a try? If you’re busy, don’t worry about it—”
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks. See you soon.”
I hung up.
“Where are we going?” She closed her salad container.
“A piece of my dad’s equipment is busted, and he needs me to fix it.”
“Can you do that?” She raised both eyebrows.
“Yeah, I can fix pretty much anything.”
“You want me to stay here, then?”
“No.” I left my sandwich behind and went into the closet to pull out my generic tools. “I’ll need you to read stuff to me while I’m working with my hands.”