Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Just about.”
“How soon after do you think we’ll hear about the board’s decision?”
Bennett’s hand at my shoulder stilled. “Not sure. Pretty fast, I think.”
Which meant I could have less than a week to figure out if Bennett and I would be separated by more than a thousand miles.
***
“Your ideas were really great.”
I turned from staring out the big bay window in Lauren and Trent’s living room to find Andrew walking toward me with a glass of wine in each hand. He extended one to me.
“No thanks. I’m driving.”
He smiled. “More for me, then. My car is in the shop, so Trent picked me up on his way home from the office.”
I nodded.
Andrew had been pretty quiet while I presented my ideas before dinner, and then he’d stayed in the background of our conversation while the four of us shared a meal.
I took a minute to look at him. He wore a button-up shirt, untucked, with a pair of dark denim jeans and loafers. He had a light beard, which really surprised me. In fact, his entire laid-back look surprised me.
“You look different,” I said.
He sipped his wine. “Is that a bad or good thing?”
I looked him over again. “Good. You look relaxed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a beard except when you were on a multi-day writing binge.”
He nodded. “You always said you liked me with facial hair.”
That was true. I’d always liked him with some scruff. But he didn’t…so he never had any.
I looked over my shoulder toward the kitchen. Lauren and Trent had insisted on cleaning up and not allowing me to help. But they’d been gone a while.
Andrew drank more of his wine, watching me over the rim of his glass. “I asked them to give us a little time to talk.”
“Oh.” I nodded. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, I turned my attention back to the big window. It had been pouring all night. “It’s really raining out there.”
Andrew kept his eyes glued to me. “I hadn’t noticed.”
He walked to an end table and set his wine down. When he returned, he stood a little closer to me. “You look beautiful tonight.”
I looked over at him, and our gazes caught. The warmth of his smile threw me back to a long time ago. We used to be happy. That smile used to make my insides feel warm—the way Bennett’s did now. Only Bennett’s smile did so much more to me. It made me feel warmth and excitement, and even though he gave me nothing to indicate he felt more than a mutual, physical attraction to me, it made me feel loved and taken care of.
Andrew reached out and pushed the hair from my face. His fingers brushed my skin. I felt it, warm and soft, but only a shadow of what it felt like when I was around Bennett. Bennett could pass me a pencil in a meeting, and the accidental brush of our fingers lit my body on fire. Andrew’s touch was the comfort of a cozy blanket—a familiarity. I couldn’t remember the last time Andrew and I had been on fire. Had we ever been? Or had I just grown comfortable in the security of what I’d known?
He leaned in a little closer. “I miss you, Anna.”
I stared at him. His lips were so close and his familiar scent all around me. Yet…I had no desire to kiss him. None.
A smile sprouted at the corner of my lips. I was excited to feel nothing, and in that moment, I made up my mind. I was going to take a chance with Bennett.
Andrew misread what was going through my mind and leaned in for a kiss.
My hands jumped to his chest, stopping him just short of our lips meeting. “No. I can’t.”
Lauren and Trent picked that moment to emerge from the kitchen. I took a step back, putting distance between Andrew and me before they joined us in the living room.
“All done with the clean-up.” Lauren smiled. “And Trent only broke one plate tonight.”
Trent put his hand on his wife’s back. “I keep thinking she’ll stop making me do dishes if I bust another one. But she just keeps buying more and forcing me to help.”
I was grateful for the interruption. I also suddenly wanted to get the hell out of here and surprise Bennett on my way home. We had something to celebrate tonight, even if he had no idea what was about to happen.
“Thank you so much for dinner. It was delicious.”
“Thank you,” Lauren said. She looked at her husband. “We both loved your ideas. I don’t even think we need to hear the other presentation, to be honest.”
“That’s very sweet. But I definitely want you to have the campaign you like best, so maybe keep your mind open until after you see what Bennett presents when you meet with him on Monday.”