Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, taking a seat at her dining room table, which overlooked the kitchen.
“I don’t cook often. But I know my way around the kitchen. I wouldn’t dream of doing this as a business, but everyone has to cook once in a while.”
Amy smiled as he presented her with bacon, eggs, some tomatoes, and lots of toast. She picked up the knife and fork he’d put on the table, and began to eat. She couldn’t believe he’d cooked for her.
Daniel sat opposite her, and she couldn’t help but watch him as he began to eat the food as well.
There was silence between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Amy was not a big fan of the morning after. She didn’t have a lot of sexual experience. In her thirty years, there had been one guy, when she was younger. He’d been much older than her, and she had thought herself in love with him, but he’d been committed to his career. A job offer overseas had changed everything. He did ask her to go with him, that he didn’t love Lost Creek, and they could make a life together.
Amy did love Lost Creek, and didn’t want to leave her home, her family, her life behind. They hadn’t come up with a compromise, so he left. They ended things, and he’d called her five years ago to let her know he was getting married, that he had a couple of kids.
There was no pain or regret.
He’d been a young crush, that was it, but they had never gone public with their relationship. Mainly because he’d been thirty years old, and she had been eighteen when they first got together. To some people, it might have seemed seedy, but Amy hadn’t been manipulated. She’d been with him because she wanted to be. She didn’t want her first time to be a horrible experience in the back of a car. Instead, she had told this guy, Easton, what she wanted, and they had enjoyed a relationship until he left when she was twenty-three.
She hadn’t mourned him, though, or felt crushed, which told her it had just been an experience rather than a relationship. Even though she had never told her granddad about it, she did tell her grandmother and Penelope. They were the only two who knew. Everyone else hadn’t been any wiser, or if they did, they never said anything.
Daniel had been her first experience since then.
She’d not been pining for a long-lost love, she had just known what it meant to be with someone, and she didn’t like the thought of going to bed with any random stranger.
“Talk to me, Amy,” he said.
Amy chuckled. “Do you think you know what I’m thinking?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation, just assurance and confidence. Daniel wasn’t cocky with it. He was just … exuding … confidence. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was addictive.
“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”
“Amy, unlike your friend, I know you don’t sleep around. You don’t entertain the tourists, nor do you have time for anyone or anything else. I get it. You’re a busy woman and you don’t like to give men the wrong impression. Last night, we had sex. I’m going to give it to you straight, I’ve never given a shit about women. I’m not some kind of monk. I’ve been with a lot of women, and none of them have mattered to me.”
“Wow,” Amy said.
She wasn’t liking this conversation at all. She couldn’t help but feel the spike of jealousy that rushed through her at the thought of him with anyone else, which then made her pause. This was kind of scary. Her previous lover had partners before her, and she hadn’t cared. He was older than her, as was Daniel. Her feelings about Daniel’s previous partners were a lot different. She hated the thought of him being with anyone but her, and yet she didn’t have a right to feel that way.
“Let’s not talk about previous partners.”
“I like you, Amy. I’ve wanted to be with you for a long time, and that is not going to change,” Daniel said. “You and I both knew where this was leading, and I’m not going to turn my back on you. You expected me to be gone this morning, didn’t you?”
“Yes. That seems to be what a lot of guys do.” She nibbled her lip, thinking about Penelope. Her friend had a lot of heartache, but it didn’t seem to stop her from constantly trying to find the one for her. Amy couldn’t fault her on that.
“I’m not like that, and I’m not going to be like that.” He reached across the table and took her hand. She stared at their hands.
“I’m not exactly good at the whole dating game, or the sex games.” She frowned then laughed. “You know what I mean?”