Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
I nod and keep my gaze focused on the roads that are becoming icy. Just a few more miles to my pub.
After a beat of silence, I clear my throat. “The bar is a two-story building. The second floor used to be an apartment. I reckon you could stay there until you figure out what to do next.”
She gives me one of her smiles that makes me feel like I just saw the sun after years of darkness. “That would be amazing.” Her expression falls. “I’ll pay you rent. I know you’re just putting up with me because of Jamie.”
I pull the truck to a stop outside of my bar. I should tell her that’s not true. I should explain that she’s never been a burden to me. That I love everything about her and think about her constantly.
But I’m a former Marine. I have more self-control than to pour out my feelings like a lovesick teenage boy. Especially when she’s busy thinking about the singles scene in Mount Bliss.
“Let me show you the place,” I grunt, trying to dismiss the image in my head of her talking to other guys.
I grab her suitcase and when she tries to take it from me, I hold it out of her reach. I laugh at her frustrated expression. This feels natural. This feels like the us I remember from a half dozen camping trips.
She finally gives up and follows me into the pub and up the stairs to the apartment. I used to crash here while I was building my cabin on the edge of town.
“It’ll be noisy as hell at night,” I warn. “But it’s yours if you want it.”
She steps inside and spins around, taking in the hardwood floors and the huge windows that offer a breath-taking view of the mountain. “This is perfect. I’ll be so close to my shop. How much is rent?”
“A donut a day,” I insist, crossing my arms over my chest. She could pay a hell of a lot more than that. She and her brother are loaded. But they’re my friends and where I come from, you treat a friend fairly.
She laughs and the sound is light, airy. “You can’t charge me rent in donuts.”
Then how about by letting me tie you up and give you orgasms?
Before I can let my dirty mouth get away with me, my phone rings.
I frown when I see it’s my brother. Owen never calls me. Sure, he lives on Mount Bliss, but the man is practically a ghost. No one ever sees him come and go, even his own flesh and blood.
“You’ll need some furniture, but at least there’s a bed. I’ll let you think about it,” I tell her before I move downstairs and answer the call.
“Did you do this to me?” Owen demands instead of greeting me.
“Do what?” I ask, rubbing the back of my neck. He had some top-secret government clearance and did work all over the world. But the man who came back from those assignments isn’t like my once easy-going brother.
“Did you send me a woman?” he growls.
“Yeah, I went and sprung for the deluxe package. She should come with incredible tits and an insatiable sex drive,” I say, still not knowing what he’s talking about.
“Fuck you,” he hisses. “A blonde showed up at my place, swearing that her uncle had rented it online. Looking about as lost as Goldilocks.”
“Not your problem. Take her down the mountain and drop her off in town,” I suggest.
He grunts. “The roads are already impassible. I’m stuck with a roommate for the snowstorm.”
I groan when he tells me about the roads. My place is also on the mountain which means I’ll have to hunker down here from the storm.
With Lyla.
Just me and her.
Alone.
3
LYLA
I wait until Amos leaves to breathe a sigh of relief. I forgot how hard it is to be around him. To be wanting him while he’s so aloof and uncaring.
Shaking off the thoughts, I inspect my new apartment. The kitchenette is tiny but it has a table and two chairs. It’ll do for one person and besides, I’ll only be here until I can find another place to rent.
The living room doesn’t have any furniture other than a couch that looks like it’ll fall apart the moment someone sits on it.
I saw a furniture shop on our way into town. Perhaps I could find a few pieces to decorate with until I can find my permanent place to live.
Still, the bare apartment isn’t a big deal. Not when there’s a view from the living room windows that I absolutely love. It feels like I can see all of Mount Bliss from here. The whole town is blanketed in fluffy white snow in the fading afternoon light. It looks like something from a Christmas card.
I smile at the idea and check out the bedroom. At least, it has a bed with a mattress and a few blankets piled carelessly on it. A nice four poster king-size bed that I can’t help wondering if Amos has ever slept on. Has he brought women here? He never did answer my subtle question about his dating life.