Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
It’s not like that with Tyler at all. My body lights up when he’s around in a way it never has before. When he kisses me, I feel like I’m floating on a big cloud of desire. When he touches me, I go wild. Inhibitions gone. Shame gone. I have zero worry that he might think I look weird when I come or that I’m too noisy or that there’s something odd about my body. I’ve always felt too uptight to let go with anyone else. With him, I can’t hold back.
Letting go of my hand, he throws an arm around my shoulders as we step off the path onto the grass. Ben, Jana, Reese, and Will have set up camp on three large blankets under one of the biggest willow trees in the park. After quick hellos, the guys head off to get the food we ordered from Rick’s. Barbecue night isn’t just delicious; it’s easy, since you place your order online before the event. Once Jana helps me spread out the well-worn blanket I brought for Tyler and me, we get comfortable.
“I swiped right on a dentist from Seattle. He said he was looking to open a practice in Charlotte’s Cove, so we went out for lunch this afternoon,” she says.
“How’d it go?” I ask, kicking off my sandals and setting them to the side of the blanket. It’s officially summer now, so it’s a whopping seventy-nine degrees at the moment. Here in the Cove, that’s pretty darn warm. Tonight, I’m wearing a pair of white shorts and an ombre navy top. My hair is in a half up, half down style, which is a necessity to hide the hickey Tyler left on the back of my neck.
“It went badly,” she sighs. “Do you know if there’s a legitimate reason why men are so damn stupid?”
I shake my head. “Uh-oh. What happened?”
“For starters, he wasn’t a dentist. I knew as soon as he smiled. No dentist would have a chipped front tooth. So, yeah. That was strike one. Strike two was that he was rude to Meghan when she took our order. Strike three came when he sipped his beer and I saw a very clear tan line from a wedding ring.”
I cringe. “Gross.”
“I texted Ben and told him what was up and he came down and ran the guy’s plates. Turns out he’s a janitor from Rainier Beach with a wife, two kids, and another on the way. I’m really not sure what he was thinking when he lied to me. It’s not like I didn’t tell him I was a cop.”
Poor Jana. She really does have the worst luck with men. After nearly three months of working together, she still hasn’t told me who it is she really wants. I know it’s someone on the force, but every time I try to talk to her about it, she shuts down the conversation.
“What happened when you called him on it?”
She wrinkles her nose and looks down at her lap to pick at her leggings. “You know how it is. He said something along the lines of, ‘my wife doesn’t suck my dick on demand now that the kids came along, so I’ve got the right to stick it other places.’”
I grimace. “That’s disgusting.”
“It is, and what’s worse is there are women out there who fall for that shit,” she answers. “Anyway, seeing as how he was a liar, I sent him on his way before dessert was served.”
“I’m sorry it was a bust.”
“It wasn’t a total bust,” she says. She tried to sound cheerful, but I could see through it. “I got two desserts out of it, and yesterday was strawberry shortcake day at Ted’s, which made it a win.”
“You know, maybe we should talk to Millie and Felicity about you. They just admitted to Tyler and me that they played matchmaker with us from the beginning.”
I’m dying to say they’re part of some matchmaking club, but the fact that they were so specific about people not knowing keeps me from sharing that detail.
“I’m at the point where I’d gladly take an assist,” Jana grumbles. “I need something; I’m just not sure what it is.”
I nod, thinking about how lucky I am that Millie, Felicity, and whatever club they’re part of decided Tyler and I were a good idea.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
____________________________________
ASHLEY
“YOU READY FOR this?” Tyler asks as he gestures out to the Wenatchee River.
I clap my hands twice and shift from foot to foot, because I’m still trying to get comfortable in the wetsuit I’m wearing. “So, so ready.”
“I didn’t realize my woman’s an adrenaline junkie,” he says, pride evident in his voice.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I scoff. “This is more about me seizing the day and being open to adventure. I’m not quite ready for skydiving or anything truly wild, which disqualifies me from being a badass.”