Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“I can see that you now get where I’m coming from.”
Yeah, I for sure see where he’s coming from, and I don’t know where to go from here.
“So what now?” He doesn’t have the chance to answer that question since Gemma starts barking as she takes off toward the front of the house right before the bell rings, and we both look in that direction. “I should—”
“Stay,” he cuts me off as he closes the space between us and wraps his big, warm palm around the nape of my neck. A move that has my breath catching and my heart stuttering in response. “Please.”
Please.
Ugh. I wish that one word didn’t have me instantly caving.
“All right,” I agree, and he seems to relax.
“We’ll talk when everyone leaves.”
“Great. More talking,” I mutter, the idea suddenly not exactly thrilling. When I left my house, this whole situation seemed so simple. All I had to do was get him to admit he likes me, and everything else would fall into place. Now I see how naive I was.
“It’s not so bad.” He grins, dropping his eyes to my mouth while his thumb smooths along the edge of my jaw.
Okay, when he’s looking at me like he is right now and touching me like he is, it doesn’t seem so bad.
“Hello?” a voice that sounds like Talon’s calls from the front of the house, startling me because he obviously let himself inside. I expect Bax to push me away or at least put distance between us, so I’m shocked when he smiles and brushes his nose across mine before shouting an answer over his shoulder.
“In the kitchen!”
Letting his hand fall away from my neck, he turns as a girl dressed up as a very cute fairy with colorful wings comes around the corner, a little boy dressed as a pirate right behind her, and behind him another boy, this one much younger and dressed as Spider-Man. From the pictures Talon showed my mom and me a couple of days ago, I know the little girl is Eleanor, and the boys are Tobias and Conor.
“Uncle Bax!” The girl rushes to her uncle and gives him a hug as my eyes go to the doorway when Talon and a very beautiful woman step into the room.
“Hey, Olivia.” Talon smiles at me before looking at the woman at his side, who I know must be his wife. “Babe, this is Olivia, who I was telling you about.”
“Hi, I’m Mia.” She smiles, stepping forward to give me a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You too,” I say as she lets me go.
“You got something on your nose,” Eleanor says, grabbing Bax’s face in both her hands, and I look at him, noticing that some of the black liner I used to draw a heart on the tip of my nose to make me look like a cat is now smudged across his.
My eyes fly over to Talon to check his reaction, and he turns to me, dropping his eyes to my nose before looking at Bax.
“Don’t start,” Bax mutters in his brother’s direction while wiping his nose with the back of his hand.
“I wasn’t starting anything.” Talon laughs.
“Um…” I scoot around Talon and Mia. “I’ll be right back.”
“What’s so funny?” Eleanor asks in her sweet little voice as I leave the kitchen and head down the hall to the half bath.
“Nothing, honey,” Mia says, sounding like she’s trying not to laugh.
Flipping on the light for the bathroom, I take in my reflection and adjust my headband that has cat ears attached, then lean close to the mirror. My nose and whiskers are mostly still in place except for a little bit of pink showing through the black on my nose. Unfortunately, I don’t have the waterproof liner I used with me to fix it, so it is what it is.
When movement catches my attention out of the corner of my eye, I look to my right and watch Bax step through the open door of the bathroom.
“How do I get this off?” he asks, rubbing his nose, and I smile.
“Let me help.” I grab a piece of toilet paper and wet it, then add a little soap. Moving around him so we’re standing face-to-face, I lean up on my tiptoes and place my hand on his jaw, ignoring the way my insides tighten when he wraps his hand around my hip to hold me steady.
“You okay?”
I lift my eyes to his. God, it’s hard to look at him up close like this, especially when he’s touching me.
“Yeah.” I wipe away the black liner. “Talon seemed…” I search for the right word. “…unsurprised that it looked like we might have been making out.”
“He’s been on me about making a move.” This information surprises me. “He also knew I was considering how that might affect your brother’s and my relationship.”