Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
But if I want her to stop kidding herself, I need to stop doing the same. I would have to tell Callum, and he would never go for her being on her own for hours every day.
It's like she can read my mind. “Are you afraid of what Dad will say?”
“He is my employer, and my job is to—”
“Enough. I don't need to hear it. I know what your job is. I don’t need to be reminded.” She stares straight ahead, her heels clicking loudly against the sidewalk before she steps off the curb… and almost gets her ass run down by a speeding car.
“What the hell is your problem?” I pull her back by the arm, half a second before the car would have mowed her down like she was nothing but tall grass. The sound of a blaring horn fills the air and mixes with the insults the driver screams out their window.
Her green eyes have gone from flashing with anger to widening in shock. “I... I wasn't thinking...” she whispers while the color drains from her cheeks.
“No shit, you weren't thinking. Jesus Christ. Do I need to teach you how to safely cross the street? What about tying your shoes? Think you can handle that?”
She shakes herself free of me, her lip curling with disgust. “I don't need lectures from you. It could happen to anybody.”
“If you pay a little less attention to insulting me, you could pay more attention to what's happening around you.”
“I'll be sure to keep that in mind.” Let her sigh and mutter and snarl all she wants. She's shaken up the way anybody with half a mind would be after a close call. Even I’m a little jumpy as we cross the street and come to the west end of what passes for a downtown district around here.
Main Street has mostly stayed the same, not that I expected it to be totally different. A few of the brick façade buildings have different names now. There's fresh paint, and the weeds that used to choke the cracks in the sidewalk are nowhere to be seen. The trees that were only saplings a few years ago when Callum had them planted are thriving, their leaves beginning to turn orange and red.
Aside from those things, it's like stepping back in time. Lori’s Deli still sits on the corner with the same faded Coca-Cola sign in the window. Another ten years of sunlight have turned the red background to a faint pink. Olde English Pizza Parlor sits on the other side of the street—we’ve ordered from there twice already, and I’m glad their quality hasn’t suffered. Next to that is the real estate agency. The beauty parlor, barber shop, and pet store bring back enough memories to rock me back on my heels. While seeing the big, neon O’Neal’s sign at the other end of the block is almost enough to sicken me. How many times did I heave my guts up in the alley behind the building after being served beer when I was way too young?
“It’s not much,” I admit, watching her from the corner of my eye as she looks up and down the block.
Instead of wrinkling her nose or scoffing, her lips quirk in what can pass for a smile. “It's quaint. Cute.”
Says the girl who took a nearly two-month European vacation for her college graduation present. “I know what that's code for. It’s sad and boring.”
“You don't know half as much about me as you think you do.”
That is entirely wrong. I know her better than she knows herself. I've had plenty of time to observe her, and it was my job to keep an eye on her for a while. I can read her like a book. “Well, it looks like they want help at the pet store. Would you like to apply?” I point to the help wanted sign showing in the window.
“Sure.” So far, she's committed to the bit, determined to make it look like she intends on working.
When I move to follow her through the door, though, she scowls back at me. “I can go in alone. In fact, I would rather go in alone.”
“Not going to happen, Princess.”
“For fuck’s sake.” With a stomp of her booted heel, she whirls on me. Teeth clenched, and her eyes narrowed to slits. Damn it, why does her rage turn me on so much? Of course, my cock twitches at that very moment. “I’m not bringing a babysitter in with me. What do you think is going to happen? I'm going to sneak out through the back door?”
I tilt my head, pretending to think. “Now that you’ve brought it up, I wouldn’t put that past you.”
“You can see just fine through the window,” she mutters, jerking a thumb toward the glass that makes up most of the front wall. “Watch from the sidewalk. Don’t embarrass me.”