Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Shane opened his mouth, but nothing would come out. It was as though something blocked his throat, like his goddamned heart had crawled up in there. No one had ever spoken about him that way. He wasn’t sure if anyone had ever seen him that way either.
Since he couldn’t speak, he didn’t. He just stood partially and leaned over the table. He crooked his finger, telling Van to come to him. A smile stretched across Van’s face and he did it, leaned over the table and Shane pressed his lips softly against Van’s—once, twice, then pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “Thank you.”
“You don’t have anything to thank me for, and you just proved my point. Strongest person I know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
They’d only just sat back down when Libby brought out their BLTs and shakes.
They ate and laughed and talked and no matter how hard he tried, Van couldn’t keep his eyes off Shane. Van was mesmerized by him. He was so fucking real, real in a way he’d never experienced before. He was so into this man. It was quick, and likely not smart, but it was true. He felt this draw to Shane, this magnetic fucking pull that was too strong to ignore.
And he didn’t want to ignore it.
“So…do I get to go sleep over at your house tonight?” he teased, earning himself a smile from Shane. He was greedy for every moment he could have with Shane. It wasn’t as though he and his mom could get along for any extended amount of time, anyway.
“Yeah…I think we can work something out. I don’t remember if I told you there’s a no-clothes-allowed rule at my place, though.”
“Oh really?” Van cocked a brow at him. “How could I not have known that before?”
“Because it’s a new rule. Made it up about fifteen seconds ago.”
Van chuckled. “I’m in full agreement. Naked rules are the best kind.” He watched as Shane sucked through his straw and he’d never wanted to be a milkshake so much in his life. “You let me know if you ever have something else going on, okay? I know you have other responsibilities, and I can be naked anytime you want. There’s no expiration date.”
“It’s okay. My mom has her knitting club tonight. She has it once a month and really looks forward to it.”
“That’s great. Did she always do that?” He was incredibly fucking curious about Shane and his mom but he never wanted to pry.
“No. She kept mostly to herself while I was growing up. This is something I forced, but now she’s glad I did. She has her knitters, and then she also has a game night once a month. Sometimes we have to cancel, but most of the time, she doesn’t want to. She enjoys it and she knows it’s good for her. The ladies she meets with really love her. They genuinely want to help and be her friend.”
“I’m glad you both have that then. I wondered about that…her being alone but I didn’t want to butt in.”
Shane shrugged. “We do the best we can. I spend time with her. She has her two groups of women who come in. Sometimes she enjoys getting out for her doctor appointments and therapy. She’s done some group therapy too. Sometimes, I can’t get her to go. It is what it is.”
“Does anyone help you with those things? Have you ever thought about hiring anyone or—”
“No,” Shane cut him off. “It’s not anyone else’s responsibility to take care of her. I’ve had a few of the women offer to drive her but it doesn’t feel right. If she has a panic attack or something…I just know she wouldn’t want anyone else to see her that way.”
So Shane took it upon himself. The man took everything on himself.
“You’re a control freak, aren’t you?” Van teased, hoping to earn another of Shane’s smiles.
“You know it, baby.” He winked and then someone cleared their throat. Van looked up to see Jonathan standing there, wearing a suit. His blond hair was styled perfectly and he had a tight, forced smile on his face.
“Max, we need to stop running into each other like this. I’ve been out to your mom’s but you weren’t there. I thought we were going to grab lunch or something, buddy?” He looked over then at Shane as though he hadn’t known the other man was there the whole time. “Shane.”
“Jon.” Shane took a sip of his water. “How’s Arianna’s car running?”
“Good. It was a shit time for her transmission to go out. I didn’t have time to work on it myself.”
Van couldn’t hold back his chuckle. He couldn’t imagine Jonathan working on a car and it was obvious he said that to try and lessen what Shane did. “Oh, come on, Jon. Working on cars was never your thing.”