Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“They’re cute.” I smile and I can tell she doesn’t know whether to yell at me or smile.
“Whatever.” She huffs dropping her eyes back to the menu. After that the waitress comes over and we place our order then sit there and eat lunch. It takes her a while to relax, but she eventually does. And when she does, I know I don’t want this to be the last meal I share with her.
CHAPTER 4
Up In Smoke
Gia
“SO YOU HAD LUNCH with him?” Natasha asks in my ear as I move around the kitchen, putting the leftover roast from dinner into a Tupperware container for tomorrow night’s tacos.
“Yeah.”
“And he joked about it being your first date,” she repeats what I told her—or what I yelled into her voicemail—as soon as I got off work, since she didn’t answer when I called and I needed to tell someone, anyone, about what happened.
“Yeah,” I reply, feeling my stomach muscles tighten the same way they did when Colton joked about us being on our first date.
“And he’s hot?”
“Very.” I close my eyes and lean back against the counter, thinking hot doesn’t quiet cover what Colton is.
“So what’s the problem?” Opening my eyes, I look at Grandma sitting at the table, trying to put together a puzzle. I came here to take care of her and get to know her again. I didn’t come here to get my feelings mixed up in some guy with beautiful dark eyes and a great laugh.
“He’s my boss’s son,” I answer, and it sounds lame even to my own ears.
“So…” She lets that one word drag out.
Running my hand through my hair, I tip my head back to look up at the ceiling, wondering if the answer is there. “And—”
“Don’t do that,” she whispers, cutting me off, and my back goes straight. “You always do this with guys. You never give them a chance. You make up every excuse in the book to keep yourself distanced. Don’t do that now. I could hear it in your voice that you were excited, happy even. So don’t try to play this off as nothing. I love you. You’re my best friend. And as your best friend, I’m telling you not to let the fact that you’re afraid hold you back.”
“Nat—”
“Who knows what will happen? He might end up being a complete dick. But then again, he might not.”
“I don’t even know if he’s really into me.” And that’s the truth. I have no idea if he’s just being nice, or if he’s being nice and flirty because he likes me. I can’t read him.
“Only time will tell, honey. But if he is into you, then you need to be open to the idea of being into him.”
“I’ll try,” I promise, because I know she won’t give up until I do.
“Good. Now tell me how your grandma is doing. Did you get her an appointment?”
Lowering my voice, I say, “She’s okay, but she thinks I’m my mom, and most of the time I don’t have the heart to remind her who I really am. I got her an appointment for the day after tomorrow, so we’ll see what the doctors say then.”
“Do you want me to come down?”
God, I love my best friend.
“I’m good for now,” I tell her, picking up the Tupperware dish, taking it over to the fridge, and placing it on the shelf inside. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”
“Keep me updated on everything.”
“I will.”
“All right, I just got home, so I’m going to hop in the shower then watch the newest episode of Claws.”
“Claws?” I prompt, taking a seat across from Grandma, who looks at me and smiles.
“Girl, this show is crazy! You need to check it out sometime. It’s about a group of girls who work at a nail salon and use that as a front to launder drug money.”
“Sounds interesting,” I reply sarcastically.
“You have to watch it to understand exactly why it’s the fucking bomb.”
“When I have cable put in next week, I’ll check it out.”
“You don’t have cable?” Nat gasps, sounding horrified.
“Grandma doesn’t have it, and since I spent most of my money taking care of things that were a little more important than cable, I’ve lived without it. But I have an appointment to get it next week.”
“Do you also ride a horse to work to save on gas money?”
“Shut up,” I laugh while listening to her giggle along with me. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, and remember what I said. And if you can, snap a pic of this Colton guy so I can check him out.”
“That’s not going to happen.” I smile, picking up a piece of the puzzle and putting it in place. This puzzle is one of a garden and cottage—one of three we have completed since I’ve been here.