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)
“You were expecting someone else?”
“Yes, Cole, since this is his study.” Her glare was designed to kill.
“And yet, he usually doesn’t usually make pizza in here.”
Rather than concede my point, she continued to shoot daggers at me. “Why are you here?” Her voice was accusatory, as if she wasn’t asking why I was in this office but more like why I existed in the first place.
“Just trying to balance the books.”
Her eyes fell on my laptop. “I’m surprised you don’t use an abacus.”
“It broke.” I picked up my phone. “My Blackberry did, too, so I have to use one of these new-fangled contraptions.”
“Why are you working on the books? I thought Cole did that.”
“Is it a problem if I help out a friend, Ms. James?”
She bounced on the balls of her feet, causing a fascinating jiggle in the camisole she wore. The spaghetti straps strained as she continued her impatient bouncing. “I’ve been called Ms. James more often this week than the rest of my life put together.”
“What do your fans call you?”
“Lila.”
She was wearing yoga pants, too. What kind of woman dressed so skimpily in a house full of strange men? But then again, the things she posted online proved that she was shameless.
“Was there something you needed?”
Rather than answer, she countered with a question of her own. “Do you work in finance?”
“No.” I didn’t feel the need to tell her that I used to.
“Are you ever going to tell me what you do?”
“Not unless there’s a need for you to know.”
She rolled her eyes.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to finish this before dinner.”
“Fine.” Except she didn’t leave.
I sighed. “It’s going to be chilly out there tonight.”
She gave me a blank look.
“Out on the deck by the pizza oven. You might want to put some clothes on.”
She looked down at the light fabric clinging to her body. “I have clothes on.”
“More clothing, I meant.”
Lila stared at me. For a moment, she seemed like she was about to stick her tongue out at me. It made her look young, like the little girl she used to be. But then she sighed. “Thanks for the tip,” she said.
It was the least thankful tone I’d ever heard.
Lila might not have liked my advice, but she did follow it by putting on a hoodie and boots when we sat out on the deck, drinking beer and watching Cole use a broad wooden paddle to get the pizza in and out of the oven. But then inside, back at the dinner table, she was in her little tank top and leggings again. Did she ever wear a single stitch more than she had to?
After dinner, Penny excused herself to her room. By now, I’d heard enough to know that she had a boyfriend and that it wasn’t a very smooth relationship. Likely she wanted to talk to her man.
The rest of us retired to the backyard again. Brady built a fire in the fire pit while Cole set up chairs and I poured wine. We were all moving slowly. Cole’s pizza had been so damn good that I’d eaten more than I should have. So had the others.
The night sky was utterly amazing, as always. I wasn’t a city dweller, like our guest, but the suburbs where my home was didn’t have views like this. I drank freely as I enjoyed the night air, confident that I could sleep here for the night.
Lila was sitting close to the fire, perhaps for warmth. The flames brought out the tawny highlights in her hair. Since she seemed to be looking everywhere except my direction, I was able to observe her without being caught.
Her gaze kept returning to Cole. That wasn’t too surprising, given his hideous shirt. But I didn’t think that was it. It was like she was seeing him in a new light, perhaps discovering what I’d known all along, that he wasn’t stuffy and formal. In fact, when he wasn’t in city council mode, he could be quite the jokester. But you had to know him well to realize that. Apparently, Lila was figuring it out.
She watched Brady, too. That was a bit harder to work out, and I wondered if something had happened between them on their hikes. Though she was sitting across the fire from him, there seemed to be some kind of bond between them. Or the beginning of a bond.
Maybe I couldn’t figure it out because I couldn’t figure her out. How could someone so smart and talented be content to film her life for others’ viewing? Sure, I’d made some how-to videos, but that was about teaching.
But for Lila, her entire life was basically a brand. She herself was the product, and she marketed herself well. What I couldn’t figure out was why. Didn’t she ever want to have days off where she just kept to herself? Didn’t she want to experience things for real instead of just making a show of it?