Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Good.” I stood up, stretching my muscles as I did so. I bit back a grin as I caught Brady staring at my legs. Tender moment or not, he was still a man. I shook out the backpack and handed it to him. “Ready to head back?”
“Definitely.”
After that, we all had lunch together. Brady made BLTs, and they were delicious. Then Penny and I worked out a strategy for what videos we wanted to make this week. After her assertiveness this morning, she’d reverted back to her usual quiet self, but that might’ve been because she couldn’t get hold of Jeff. She was worried that he wouldn’t answer his phone, but I thought it was more likely that he was punishing her for leaving him for a week. Again, I felt a little guilt at that, but mostly, I wished she’d come to her senses and dump his sorry ass.
Brady went for his shift at the diner in the afternoon, and Cole headed out back to work on the cottage they were fixing up. I heard a lot of hammering and sawing. That only intensified when an SUV parked out front and Gideon joined him.
Gideon stayed for dinner, which was leftovers from the night before, but he and Cole mostly talked to each other in low voices about business with the inn. If Brady had been here, I bet we all would’ve conversed with each other. He was becoming the bridge between our two factions.
And then it was night. Penny headed to her room early, saying she was tired, but I suspected she was going to try to contact Jeff again. Gideon left, and Cole retired to the study that he apparently used as an office.
Which just left me.
I wandered restlessly around the inn, determined to stay up until I was so exhausted I’d be guaranteed a deep and dream-free sleep. But that was easier said than done, since there was so little to do around here. I threw some darts downstairs for a while. I tried to get into one of the ancient paperbacks in the lounge.
Hell, I even pulled out the game of Mouse Trap and tried to get the elaborate trap set up. But either it was easier with two people, or it was missing a piece or two and I couldn’t remember how to do it. Besides, it reminded me of my father, and he wasn’t who I should be thinking about this close to bed. Not unless I wanted another nightmare.
After all that, it wasn’t even nine yet. There was no way I was going to be able to stay up for another couple of hours without something better to do.
In desperation, I padded into the kitchen to see if there was any leftover wine. A partial bottle of Merlot lifted my spirits as I hunted down a wine glass. As I opened one cabinet after another, I heard a rustling noise.
Looking down, I spotted a yellow Post-it note sticking to the edge of my slipper—I must’ve stepped on it. Curious, I finished pouring my wine, and then I bent over to pick it up.
A frown spread across my face as I read it.
14
BRADY
“Brady!”
I looked up from the grill at my favorite coworker. Sandy was in her forties and was a cheerful, raunchy mother figure to most of us here at the diner.
“Table five says their burger’s too rare.”
I took the platter from her and, within seconds, had the burger sizzling on the griddle. Everything had to be done quickly in a diner, even this late at night. High school kids filled the booths—as Cole, Gideon, and I had when we were that age—and people who worked late came here before heading home.
“So how’re things with your houseguest?” Sandy said with a grin. “I take it she’s still not your biggest fan.”
“Not yet.” I flipped the burger onto a new bun and added a generous heap of crispy fries. That should please the customer.
“You can’t really blame her for that, though.” Sandy took the platter and laughed. “But wow, the way she talks about you three. I’d say you boys have met your match. She’s a feisty one.”
She was indeed. All except for this morning. Something had been wrong during breakfast, but I couldn’t figure out what. It had been bothering me all day.
Sandy kept up her questions as we got the food out. “Is she as pretty in person as she is online?”
“Prettier,” I said honestly.
Sandy’s laugh this time was more of a cackle. “It’ll be interesting to see which one of you boys falls head over heels first.”
“Not likely,” I said. Or at least it wasn’t likely to be reciprocated. “She hates us.”
“Again, can you blame her? But she’ll come around. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Eventually she’ll see that you three are catches.”