Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
She knew it was a little ridiculous having this problem. She was one of the wealthiest women in the country right now. She could live anywhere her heart desired. But she wanted to be with people she loved. In places that felt familiar. That felt like home.
She was deep in thought—considering all angles to her problem—and gnawing on her thumb cuticle when a coffee mug appeared in her field of vision. She gratefully latched onto it with both hands.
“Thank you,” she told Ben after taking a deeply satisfying sip of the hot, aromatic brew and nearly scalding her tongue in the process.
He nodded and slid a plate heaped full of pancakes—drizzled with butter and honey, just how she liked it—and crispy bacon onto the coffee table in front of her. He left and returned with some cutlery, two empty plates and a second mug of coffee.
“Help yourself,” he invited, handing one of the empty plates and a knife and fork to her. Before loading his own plate with some steaming pancakes and a couple of strips of bacon. He balanced his plate on his lap and dug straight in. Not bothering with a knife, using the side of his fork to cut into pancakes.
Lilah lowered her feet from the couch to the floor and reached for her own plate and a smaller helping of pancakes and butter. She took a cautious nibble and was surprised by how ravenous she was. Days of barely touching your food would do that. She was relieved to feel her appetite reviving and she scarfed down the modest first helping in no time, and soon found herself reaching for more.
They ate in silence. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable silence, but—considering their fight the night before—it wasn’t too terrible either. His pancakes were great, buttery and delicious.
“These could almost rival Gramps’s,” she said, and he grinned in genuine warmth.
“Well, I learned from the best,” he said. “I watched him make them often enough. I never get the amount of sugar quite right though. He didn’t measure it.”
It was a little heavy on the sugar, but it was still pretty tasty.
She sopped up some honey and butter from her plate with the last bite of her pancake and finished it with a satisfied sigh. “That was really good, Ben. Thank you.”
He nodded and took a sip from his cup, watching her over the rim.
“I don’t want you to leave.” The words were abrupt, unexpected, and startled Lilah into looking up.
“Ben…”
“I think you should stay those two months. I’d appreciate it. Just until we get everything sorted with Cyrus’s estate, and the market settles. It’ll also give you time to figure out what your next step would be. And to get back into the flow of things with your business. I know you’ve taken some time off to plan for the wedding. And before that there was your vacation to Paris. I feel like your business has been on the back burner since then. It’ll take time getting it back on track.”
Ben didn’t know the specifics of why she’d taken that time off, she hadn’t told him or Gramps about her health issues. She knew Ben had disapproved of her decision to close up shop for so long. It had probably reinforced his belief that she was capricious and spoiled. That her business had been a whim.
But he was wrong about her not being able to pick up where she’d left off. Because she was highly sought after in her field, she had new and old clients waiting in the wings for her return. But she needed to rethink her social media strategy and her scheduling. Starting up professional collaborations like the one she had with Blake, partnerships, sponsorships would be a little harder. So Ben was right about Lilah needing time and stability to get her business organized in a way that suited her new vision.
He pushed to his feet, coffee mug still in one hand, and Lilah was momentarily diverted by his long, naked legs, with their muscular calves, and beautifully muscled, runner’s thighs… She refused to dwell on the way those boxer briefs cupped his thick bulge and firm butt, and instead stared at the strong, beautifully veined tanned hand he held out to her.
“I have something to show you,” he said, when she continued to merely stare at his hand without reaching for it. “Please, Lilah.”
The soft desperation in those two words was novel enough to prompt her into action. She took his hand and allowed him to tug her up. She was wearing a white cropped cami top, a white, butt hugging pair of boy shorts, and a pair of ankle socks. She refused to be self-conscious about her near-nudity when he didn’t seem to care about his. And she absolutely refused to acknowledge the gleam of desire she saw in his eyes when he gave her body a quick, appreciative once over.