Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
My giggle turns into laughter.
“Pip, I mean it,” she says, laughing in disbelief. “He’s the whole package. Drop-dead gorgeous. He has confidence that’s not quite cocky but just arrogant enough to give him bad-boy vibes. And those eyes … I can’t even with those eyes.”
Yeah, me either, friend.
“As much as I can’t stand Banks, I’d lick every inch of his brother,” she says. “Any of them. Have you seen the other Carmichael boys in a while?”
I shake my head.
“Girl …” She sighs dreamily. “I ran into the eldest one, Foxx, the other day at the gas station. Holy mother of all. He must be in his midthirties by now and this motherfucker gets hotter as he ages. It’s unfair.”
“I can imagine. Their dad was always pretty hot.”
“Right? And then there’s Moss. I saw him at Muggers a while back, and he bought my coffee for me. I thought for sure it was foreplay. Turns out, he was just being nice.”
I laugh again.
“Maddox’s face is all over town since he’s a real estate agent. And let me just say this—he really should charge the town of Kismet Beach a fee because that face undoubtedly brings in female tourists. I’d stop here.”
“Stop it,” I say, holding my stomach. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Me? What’s wrong with you? You have the best one of them all practically begging you for attention, and you play it off like he’s another dude from the bar.”
A warmth settles over me as I consider what she’s saying. Even though I’m not interested in pursuing anything with Jess, knowing he’s into me isn’t terrible for my self-confidence.
“Jess is the kind of guy who will want to marry someone and settle down. Have a houseful of kids,” I say.
“Yeah. So?”
I wrinkle my nose. “So that’s not my idea of a good life.”
“You still really don’t want kids? Ever?”
My lack of a desire to have children is as true as the fact that I have brown hair and hate math.
I was never the girl who played with dolls or wanted to babysit. Kids grossed me out … and they still do.
I’m okay with that.
I’ve accepted my choice and I’m not about to change that for anyone … and it’s been a deal breaker in the two relationships I’ve had that have almost gotten serious—both heart-wrenching conversations and heart-wrecking decisions. They were both very quick to dismiss me as if I mattered little once the talk of the availability of my uterus came into the equation.
Could you really love someone and let them go so painlessly?
The only way I’ll maybe ever try my hand at a relationship again is if the man is absolutely, one thousand million percent in the same headspace. Because if there’s one thing I don’t want more than children, it’s having my soul crushed over it.
Which is precisely why Jess is a no-go.
Unfortunately.
“No. Never,” I say.
She shrugs. “Cool. You can be my kids’ aunt someday.”
“I’ll be the best damn aunt in the universe. I’ll spoil them rotten with all the candy and sleepovers and trips to the beach. They’ll love me.”
I sigh, needing a way out of this conversation. If I leave it to Kerissa, we’ll sit here and talk about Jess all night. While that wouldn’t be an ugly conversation, it wouldn’t be productive either.
“Are we putting this picture up or not?” I ask, gazing down at the picture on the coffee table.
“Shit. I forgot to find a hack. Let me look.”
“You do that, and I’ll get us a drink.”
“Deal.”
I make my way into the kitchen, my mind on Jess Carmichael. The simplicity in his smile and the kindness in his eyes ease the turbulence in my stomach.
I remove two glasses from the cabinet.
“Did I hear you say that you’re looking for a husband?”
“No, Jess, I’m not. The only thing I apparently need is an ex-husband.”
A laugh falls from my lips. Somehow, that’s so on-brand for me.
5
PIPPA
“Pippa? We’re ready for you in the conference room,” Shelly says through my desk phone.
“I’ll be right there. Thank you.”
The line disconnects.
My stomach churns as I gather extra documentation to support my proposal, just in case I need it.
I didn’t sleep well last night, and this morning was rough. My mind flipped back and forth from seeing Jess to Bridgit’s impending decision. It was a roller coaster, going from thoughts of a man who makes me feel giddy to a situation I have no control over that will affect my career’s foreseeable future.
“You’ve prepared,” I whisper. “You’ve worked your ass off. If she goes with Chuck, there’s nothing you can do about it. Stay cool.”
I smell his cologne before I hear him at my door.
“What do you want, Chuck?” I ask without looking up.
He laughs, the sound resembling a hyena if it ate a chipmunk with a mouth full of acorns. “Are you ready for the big reveal?”