Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Yeah?” I say as I hit the button.
My heart stops as I wait for an answer. If it’s a delivery boy, I’m going to lose it.
“Hi.”
It’s her. I can tell immediately and my heart reacts fiercely, drumming in my chest like a war drum.
“It’s me, Jane. Can you let me in?”
“Yup.”
I hit the button and pace around my foyer until she drives up and parks her car. I can’t help but peek out the window to get a glimpse of her. I’ve been waiting for it all damn night.
I frown when I see her tiny car. It’s too small. Too fragile. I don’t want her to be so vulnerable while she’s driving. I’m going to have to get her something big and indestructible. I can’t have her driving around in that puny thing with all of the crazy drivers out there. What if something happens to her?
Jane steps out of the car and the breeze ripples through her gorgeous blonde hair. I grab onto the door handle for support as my legs tremble and weaken for a second.
“Jane,” I whisper to myself. I just love the sound of her name. It’s melodic. It’s heavenly. It’s been running on repeat in my mind all morning.
She’s wearing big round sunglasses today. I want to take them off and gaze into those beautiful blue eyes once again. I want to see them looking at me like I’m not a monster.
I step away from the window as she begins walking over with her things.
I can barely breathe while I wait for her to knock on the door. Those small knuckles tap lightly on the door and I have to stop myself from yanking it open.
“Hi!” she says in a bright chipper tone when she sees me.
It’s hard to talk in front of her. She’s like the sun lighting up my dark day.
“I brought you these.”
She pulls a hand-picked bouquet of flowers out from behind her back and smiles as she watches me look at them in confusion.
“You picked me flowers?”
That smile is radiant. It’s going to be on my mind all day. I feel another sleepless night coming…
“I did!”
“Why?”
She gives me a playful frown. “Are you going to tell me you don’t like flowers? They smell good and they’re pretty. What’s not to like?”
She thrusts them into my hand and I reluctantly take them, not knowing what to do or say. She brought me flowers. I’m so touched.
“Come in,” I say as I step to the side and let her in. “Where’s Alina?”
“Oh, she’ll be here in a bit,” Jane says as she hangs her purse on a hook and takes off her sunglasses. “I thought I’d come early to check on you. Your swelling has gone down and I can see both of your beautiful eyes. That’s an improvement.”
She came to check on me? A fluttering fills my stomach as we head into the kitchen.
“You’re going to want to put those in water,” she says as I put the flowers on the counter. “Never mind, I’ll do it. Where are your vases?”
I just stare at her.
“Are you telling me you don’t have one vase in this entire giant house?”
I shrug. “No one has ever brought me flowers before.”
“Oh, that’s so sad,” she says with a frown. “I’ll just use a glass.”
She opens a couple of empty cupboards until she finds a beer glass. My eyes never leave her as she fills it with water and arranges the beautiful yellow flowers inside it.
“I’m growing these on my balcony,” she says as she places the glass on the middle of my counter. “I thought your house could use a dab of color. It’s so gray in here.”
“I like gray.”
She laughs as she walks past me, dragging her hand on my arm. “Oh, I know that. It’s very obvious.”
“I was just about to make breakfast,” I tell her. “Are you hungry?”
“What are you eating?” she asks, looking at me skeptically. “A dozen raw eggs and a protein shake?”
“How about an omelet?”
“Sold!” She has a big smile on her face as she opens the blinds and looks outside at the sunny day. It’s hard to focus on getting the ingredients out with her smiling like that. I just want to look at her. I’m so distracted that I accidentally take a chicken breast out instead of the eggs.
She sits on the opposite side of the island and watches me as I start chopping up a pepper.
“Where are you from, Tucker?”
“Vermont.”
“I love Vermont!” she says with a giddy grin. “Well, I’ve never actually been there but I’ve loved every picture I’ve ever seen. Do you miss it?”
“No. There’s nothing to miss.”
“There’s got to be something to miss!”
“I miss the snow sometimes.”
“Yeah, it must be nice to have a change from this intense heat. What about your family? You must miss them.”