Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 186555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 933(@200wpm)___ 746(@250wpm)___ 622(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 933(@200wpm)___ 746(@250wpm)___ 622(@300wpm)
We’d been side-eyeing each other a lot since.
“Good luck.” I grinned at my teenage friend. “If you need anything from up there, go for it. I’ll be back later.”
“Where are you going?” my landlord asked out of nowhere.
I looked at Mr. Rhodes in surprise.
Was he… frowning?
I told him the name of the restaurant. Then I wondered if I should tell him I was meeting Amos’s uncle there.
But before I could decide, the teenager asked, “Are you going on a date?”
“Sort of.” I let out a breath. “Do I look okay, you think? It’s been a long time since I’ve been on one.” Kaden and I hadn’t been able to go out unless it was to a family thing and a private room had been booked.
I cringed thinking about it now.
I’d been so stupid for putting up with that for so long. Man, if only I could go back in time and tell a younger Aurora not to be stupid and settle.
I wanted to think I’d loved him so much that’s why I’d put up with it, with the secrets and the subterfuge. Now, some part of me thought I’d just been desperate to be loved, to have someone, even if it cost me.
And maybe love always had a price, but it shouldn’t have been that high.
“No.” Amos’s throat bobbed, bringing me back to the present. “I mean, you look really, uh, pretty,” he stammered.
“Aww, Amos, thank you. You made my day. I hope your uncle thinks so too, otherwise, tough shit for him.”
Mr. Rhodes scowled. “You’re going out with Johnny?”
Why did he have to sound like I was doing something wrong? “Yes, he went by the shop today and invited me. He asked if I wanted him to come pick me up, but I didn’t want to make it weird. I promised no one would come over and didn’t want to cross the line,” I rambled quickly, his facial expression staying exactly the way it was. “Is that okay with you? It’s only dinner.”
Those purple-gray eyes raked over me again.
Did his jaw just go tight?
Was he… mad?
“It’s none of our business,” he said very slowly.
His tone disagreed.
Even Amos glanced at him.
“We might have to turn off the power, but I’ll have it back on by the time you get back,” Mr. Rhodes went on, his voice tight.
Okay…? Someone must have forgotten to take his chill pill. “Whatever you need to do. Good luck again. See you later. Have a good night.”
“Bye,” Amos said in what had become his normal voice now. More comfortable, not so quiet.
Mr. Rhodes though said nothing.
Well, if he was annoyed with me going out with his relative or whatever he was… too bad. I wasn’t bringing him back here. It was only dinner. Just a nice date with nice company.
And I was looking forward to it.
One small step for Aurora De La Torre, one giant leap for the rest of my life.
I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin it. Not even Game Warden Moody.
* * *
“So,” Johnny asked, sipping on the one and only beer he’d said he was drinking that night, “how are you still single?”
I snickered as I set my glass of sangria down and shrugged. “Probably the same reason as you. My addiction to creepy dolls gets in the way.”
My date, my first first date in forever, laughed. Johnny had already been waiting for me inside the restaurant when I’d gotten there. So far, he’d been polite and curious, asking all kinds of questions about my job at the shop so far mostly.
And asking about my age. He was forty-one. He owned his own radon mitigation company and seemed to really like his job.
He was very cute too.
But it had taken about fifteen minutes in to decide that, as easy as he was to talk to and joke around with, at least so far, I didn’t get that… that feeling, I guess. I knew the clear difference between when I liked someone and when I liked someone.
From the way he’d checked out our waitress’s ass and the hostess’, I figured he wasn’t feeling the chemistry either. That or he expected me to be blind. Either way… it was a bust.
I wasn’t heartbroken.
And I was going to pay for my half of the food.
Pulling into the driveway not too long afterward, I was surprised to see that the garage door was still wide open. I had just barely closed my door when a shadow covered the gravel right in front of the opening. By the length and mass of it, I knew it was Mr. Rhodes.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hi,” he replied, stopping right on the edge of the concrete floor.
I stepped closer, my toes just on the other side of where the foundation was and peeked in and up. “Did you get the opener fixed?”
“We have to order a new one,” he replied, staying right where he was. “The motor burned out.”