Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Um… yeah.”
“Good.” He holds my gaze a second, nods, and then moves toward a table in the corner.
Once again, he’s surprised the hell out of me, only to turn and walk away.
CHAPTER 11
Coen
“Wait a minute.” Tilden’s voice slows my step, but it’s her hand grabbing a fistful of my T-shirt that turns me around to face her.
She doesn’t let go and jerks forward with my momentum. She stumbles into me, and my hands go to her hips to steady her.
When she’s upright, I let go, only to have her tilt slightly to the left.
Frowning, I put one hand to her shoulder and ask, “Are you drunk?”
“No way,” she scoffs, brushing me away. “Just a tiny bit buzzed.”
“How much have you had to drink?”
She lifts her gaze up to the ceiling, and her lips move silently as she counts. “Four.”
“Four what?”
“Tequila shots.”
“You’re drunk,” I say with confidence.
“It was over three hours, and I’ve had water for the last half hour. I’m not drunk, but I’m tipsy. Which is why I was on my way home.”
“You can’t drive.”
She smirks and rolls her eyes. “No shit, Sherlock. But even as small as Coudersport is, we do have Uber.”
My gaze moves to the end of the bar where she was hanging out earlier. I’d been watching her since she walked in with a group of girls and met up with some other friends. I watched her down one shot of tequila, and I only knew it was tequila by the whole salt and lime routine, but otherwise, she drank water.
I was out for a quiet beer or two, tired of looking at the inside of my house and tired of feeding the chipmunks who I keep leaving peanuts out for. It’s time for me to integrate into this town, and I was bucked up to handle curious fans. Funnily enough, no one approached me. I was recognized, no doubt, but I think it’s my “fuck the world” attitude and the “fuck off” look on my face that kept people at bay.
Looking back at her, I ask, “What did you want?”
She appears confused and bites her lower lip, which looks way too good on her.
The lip thing, that is.
“What do you mean, what did I want?” she asks.
I can’t figure out if she’s being obtuse or intentionally annoying. “You grabbed my shirt. Yelled at me to wait.”
“Oh, that,” she replies with a laugh. “I just wanted to thank you for the save back there.”
“It was nothing,” I assure her. Like I do it for people all the time, though in truth, I don’t. It’s been a long time since I’ve given enough of a fuck about anyone to summon the energy to help out.
Not sure what it says about me when I saw that fuckwad put his hands on Tilden, and she was clearly uncomfortable, that I was striding over there with the sole thought of pounding him into the ground.
“Anyway,” she says, and I blink, pulling out of my baffling thoughts. “Thanks again.”
She turns to walk back toward the group of bullies, which makes me reach out for her. I grab her shoulder and turn her around. “I thought you said you were leaving.”
Throwing a thumb over her shoulder, she says, “I am, but I’m going into the back room to say goodbye to one of my friends.” She glances at Cici and her group, all huddled close and watching us warily. “Doesn’t look like they’ll give me trouble again. At least for tonight, anyway.”
Funny how just seconds ago, I was okay with walking away from her, but as she turns to leave, I reach out and stop her again. I tell myself not to say the words, but they come out, anyway. “If you’re leaving, I’ll give you a ride.”
“I don’t want to impose—”
“You live next door to me. It’s not an imposition.”
She chews on her lip again, and it makes me want to lick her. “It’s a nice offer and all, but we really don’t know each other—”
Utterly ridiculous.
I bend down to put my lips near her ear. “After what I did to you yesterday against that tree you’re not chopping down, I’d say we know each other well enough.”
I didn’t know that blushing could be a beauty feature, but the red tint to her cheeks and the tiny gust of air she blows out of her mouth at my reminder is sexy as fuck. She’s so discombobulated, she can’t even argue with me about the tree.
Nodding toward the back room, I say, “Go say goodbye to your friend. I’m parked a few blocks down, so I’ll pull up in front for you.”
She stares at me a long moment, and I think she might say no. I’m already figuring out an argument around it, but she nods. “Okay, then.”
My gut twists slightly, and I’m not sure if it’s relief she accepted my offer or fear that she accepted my offer. I don’t want to be around her, but I do want to be around her.