Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
And now I’m not.
I’m alive. Thanks to my brother for the most part. But I like to think my willingness to fight helped quite a bit, too. The bone marrow transplant was not guaranteed to work.
“Did anyone save room for dessert?” Savannah asks.
I give her a smile. “Yes. Never again will I forgo dessert. I want to appreciate the small things in life. And if it means I weigh a few more pounds than I did before I got sick, so be it.”
“I love that attitude,” Savannah says. “But dessert isn’t much. It’s just vanilla bean ice cream with raspberries.”
I close my eyes, imagining the creamy vanilla and the sweetness of the raspberries. “It sounds perfect.”
“How about you, Vinnie?” Savannah asks. “You want dessert?”
“I should pass,” he says. “I need to get back. It’s a long drive to Austin.”
“I understand,” Savannah says. “But you need to come by more often, Vinnie. I don’t want to miss any more of my big brother than I already have.”
“You know what then?” Vinnie flashes a smile—God, he’s so damned good-looking—at Savannah. “I will have dessert. It’s not like I’m watching my weight. What’s a couple more minutes?”
Savannah smiles at him. “That’s great, Vinnie.”
“You need help?” I ask.
“Nope. Just sit down. I’ll have it over to all of you guys in a jiffy.”
A moment later, Savannah slides a dish with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream dotted with fresh raspberries in front of me.
I don’t wait until someone else starts. Once everyone is served, I take a spoonful of the ice cream along with a raspberry and slide it between my lips.
The vanilla, the cream, the sweet tanginess of the raspberry. It’s all so perfect and wonderful.
When I open my eyes, Vinnie is staring at me. I widen my eyes at him.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… Watching you eat is really mesmerizing.”
I blink a few times. “Oh?”
Vinnie presses his lips together as a small rush of pinkness hits his cheeks. “I mean… Yeah. The way I said it sounds weird. But what I mean is it’s fascinating watching you appreciate every bite. Taking the time to savor something as simple as vanilla ice cream with some berries. I think the world could learn a lot from you, Raven.”
A cozy warmth envelops my entire body, especially my face. “I’m no different from anyone else who’s survived this horrible disease. I’m one of the lucky ones, honestly. A lot of people don’t make it.” I swallow back a rush of emotion as it hits my core. “And I’m just…so thankful.”
“You’re really something,” he says.
His words make my cheeks heat further. Make my tummy flutter. I’m surprised the heat from my body isn’t melting the ice cream in front of me. Vinnie makes that place between my legs—that place I haven’t let myself think about in so long—want something.
Something I never thought I’d want again.
I always had a healthy sex drive. But then the treatment—the chemo especially—made my libido wane significantly. That coupled with the sheer exhaustion of trying to stay alive while my sickness ravaged my body rendered me numb to any sort of sexual feeling for the longest time.
“Thank you,” I say. “I guess.”
“To be fair,” Falcon says, “this is really good ice cream.”
That gets a laugh out of everyone at the table.
I take another bite, shyly looking away from Vinnie.
Still I feel his gaze on me. It’s hot and raw.
And I wonder if he feels the same thing I do.
Probably not. I’m bald. And still recovering from cancer.
But for a moment I wish things were different.
And I wish I hadn’t accepted that date with Brick Latham.
But the chances of someone as good-looking as Vinnie looking my way?
They’re not good.
We finish our ice cream, and all four of us take our dishes over to the counter.
“You need any help?” Vinnie asks.
And I like him even more.
Savannah raises an eyebrow. “Wow, you did change over in Europe.” She lets out a humorless chuckle. “No man in our family would ever think of asking if he could help clean up the dishes.”
“Our family is going to change, Sav.” Vinnie stacks a few plates and gathers some silverware off the table. “You can bet your life on that.”
“Well, I appreciate you asking, but I’ve got this covered.” Savannah takes the stack of plates and starts rinsing them off in the sink. “Go on downstairs and relax.”
“Actually,” I say, “I should be getting home. If you don’t mind, Falcon.”
“Of course not, Ray.”
“I could take you,” Vinnie says.
My cheeks warm once more.
He scratches the side of his head. “I mean, I’m going anyway. Like I said, I have to get moving. It’s a long drive to Austin.”
“I would take you a little out of your way,” I say. “Mom and Dad’s place is on the other side of the ranch.”
“I don’t mind. And it will save you a trip, Falcon. Since I’m leaving anyway.”