Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Having to think about the long-term effect of things seemed to be the story of my life now.
“I don’t have a waterproof jacket or boots,” I told him. I’d already been trying to figure out how to make it work since I’d been standing there. I’d tossed my old pair of shoes when they’d fallen apart after I had washed them, and I wasn’t going to go out there with the nice heels he’d gotten me.
Alex huffed, and I glanced over my shoulder to find him leaving the kitchen, sleep pants low on his hips…
The son of a bitch didn’t have a shirt on.
His waist was trim, shoulders broad. His rib cage tapered perfectly as a segue from one part of his body to another. His skin looked deceptively soft.
I needed to calm down and quit checking him out before he noticed and got suspicious. We both knew I found him attractive—who the hell didn’t? It wasn’t some shameful secret. That didn’t mean I had to be so obvious about it.
Subtle could be my middle name. I had this.
I was in the middle of washing my bowl when he came back into the kitchen, a T-shirt straining across his shoulders and chest, holding…
“The boots are too big, but I brought you three pairs of thick socks; if you tie them tight enough, you’ll manage. This jacket is more waterproof than the one you’ve been using; zip it up and you’ll be fine,” he said as he lowered a pair of brown leather boots with fleece lining on the floor beside one of the chairs of the breakfast table. Then he draped a big jacket over the back of the same chair before lifting his face and giving me a wary expression. “What?”
“Nothing,” I told him defensively, trying to hide the way my little heart swelled at his kind gesture. “Thanks, Alex.” I was pretty sure my voice came out normal.
Maybe not.
He frowned. “You need some boots your own size.”
“I know, getting my credit card sent was a pain in the ass, but it’s on its way,” I confirmed. It had taken a while, but getting my banking sorted was a huge weight off my back. I’d run out of groceries already, but one morning, I’d found the refrigerator and pantry restocked. The cereal I usually ate sitting there, looking at me. I’d tried to ask him how much I owed him, but he’d changed the subject by asking me if I’d heard from the legal department yet.
I hadn’t.
“I’ll survive until then as long as you keep letting me borrow your things,” I told him.
Alex grunted, and I finally noticed just how tired he seemed. There weren’t dark circles or bags under his eyes, but it was something about his energy that was just off.
“Are you good?” I asked. “You look a little ragged. Did you wake up at the crack of dawn?”
That funny expression came over his face again. “I woke up in the middle of the night. I had someone I needed to talk to,” he said, voice tight.
In the middle of the night? I didn’t ask, but I nodded. “Well, thanks for letting me borrow everything. I’m gonna go out there for a little while. Maybe make some snow angels,” I told him, watching his face closely.
Did he have to be so damn handsome all the damn time?
I need to stop. I was pretty sure we were friends at this point, but that was all there was between us. A give and take. Two people bound together by obligation and…
Maybe other things I didn’t want to poke at too closely.
He was a good best friend number 15 or wherever we were at. Whatever he wanted us to be. I’d take anything.
That realization had me thinking about his grandmother’s vision again.
Fuckkkk.
“I promise I’ll start trying to figure out a way to be able to move on soon.” I still hadn’t come up with anything, and that day in Legal hadn’t done much to give me any ideas better than what I’d already come up with. They were setting up another identity—whether it was legal or not, I had no idea, and I was in no position to be picky—but they’d warned me it would take some time. Then we’d gotten caught up with his mom’s birthday, and I’d almost forgotten about it since I had other things to focus on.
Alex nodded at my plan, still seeming just… off.
Maybe I could make him some cookies and cheer him up later.
Shoving the pairs of socks he was letting me use into the boots, then picking them up along with the jacket, I made my way toward the front door and started layering up. First the three pairs of socks went on. Then I crammed my feet into boots that were still too big, so I tightened the hell out of the laces until I was sure they wouldn’t come loose after the first step out there. The jacket was heavy and hit my knees, but it was warm, and there were a big pair of black gloves in the pockets that I put on too. Then I was out of there, closing one of the two doors behind me and carefully making my way down the steps until I stood at the bottom. My pants were going to be soaked.