Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
He tipped his head. “Will do, Haven. I’ll let you know when I’ll bring the car back to you.”
Haven smiled and walked to the door, opening it for Hank. He stepped outside, grabbed his umbrella, and headed outside. The car was still on the flatbed of his truck, so at least that was good.
Shutting the door, Haven paused for a minute. She looked like she was in deep thought.
“Haven?”
Jumping, she turned and looked at me. “Would you mind giving me a ride home now, please? Since you sent Hank away.”
She walked past me, slightly bumping into my arm.
I followed after her. “I didn’t send Hank away. I figured it would be easier to take you home while he took your car back to the shop.”
Spinning around, she pointed her finger at me. “What gives you the right to try and pay for my tire?”
Taken aback, I stared at her. “What?”
Flipping her hand toward the door. “That whole knight in shining armor bullshit. I don’t need you to pay for my tire, Nate.”
“No one has ever claimed I was a knight in shining armor, Haven. I was just trying to help you out.”
“Well, I don’t need your help, Nate. I can take care of myself.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “You certainly did a few hours ago when you were standing on the side of the road with a flat tire, which I might add is the second time I’ve found you that way in the last month! Why in the hell are you driving around on bald tires, Haven? It’s dangerous.”
Her fists balled up. “Not all of us can afford to drive around in brand-new trucks and live in beautiful houses. Some of us are paycheck to paycheck kind of people, Nate. Every ounce of money I have goes into my business and the upcoming dog park. Excuse me if I let my tires go, but it is not your concern.”
I dropped my arms to my sides. “You’re right.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then quickly shut it and swallowed. “I’m right?”
Nodding, I held up my hands. “It is none of my business.”
“That’s right. It’s not. And I’m not irresponsible.”
“I never said you were.”
She huffed. “You certainly implied it. And you embarrassed me in front of Hank by offering to pay.”
“How in the hell did I embarrass you, Haven? The guy told me you couldn’t afford new tires, not the other way around.”
I headed toward the steps to the family room and waited to see if she followed. It took her half a second, but she was definitely following me.
“I’ll just call Ted. He can come and pick me up.”
“Great,” I replied. “If you need my address for Ted, let me know.”
“You really are a jerk.”
Stopping, I turned to face her. “Why is that, Haven?”
“You’re just…you’re being too nice. You want something.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “You think you have me all figured out. Because I offered to bring you to my house so you could get warm and dry and fed you dinner because I was secretly hoping to just push you over the kitchen island and fuck you as payment for my good deeds.”
Her cheeks turned bright red.
The fire had gone down and I closed up the glass doors. I turned to see Haven had already dumped out the beer and had washed both glasses. They were sitting on a hand towel drying.
After ensuring everything was okay and I had given Haven enough time to call this Ted guy, I headed to the main floor. Haven was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, her arms folded over her chest. I walked toward her and stopped.
“Is he on his way?”
Her lips pressed into a tight line, and she looked out the window into the darkness. I waited patiently for her to say something.
“He, um, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to get out in this weather with some of the roads flooding.”
I nodded. What kind of pussy ass guy leaves the girl he is dating stranded at another man’s house?
“Do you want me to drive you home, Haven?”
Her gaze lifted, and I was gutted to see the emptiness in her beautiful eyes. Haven was always so full of energy, and to see her looking defeated, for lack of better words, left me remembering the last time I saw that look in her eyes. A strange ache squeezed my chest.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to head home.”
I nodded. “I’ll just go change.”
Turning, I made my way to my bedroom and tried to tell myself there was no good reason to insist she stay the night. If she wanted to leave, then so be it. It was honestly for the best. Having her in my home was almost too much to take. My heart also knew that the sooner she left, the better.