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)
I roll my head to the side as he kisses down my neck. The heat of his mouth and the slow, delicious rhythm of his hips is a new level of intimacy I didn’t know existed.
Unlike the other times we’ve been together, this isn’t fucking. This isn’t getting each other out of our system. This isn’t about the end.
This isn’t about the interaction. It’s the sum of them.
“I love you,” he whispers in my ear before pressing a soft kiss behind it.
“I love you too.”
26
PIPPA
Kerissa: I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU.
Me: Tell me.
Kerissa: Are you home yet?
I sit on the edge of my bed and kick off my shoes. I’ve never noticed how bright my bedroom is.
Then again, everything has seemed brighter today.
We stopped for breakfast on the way back to Kismet Beach. We had noticed the diner on the way to Silver Springs—a blue building with rocking chairs on the front porch and bright white trim. The hanging baskets of flowers are what caught my eye initially while I waited for Jess to pump gas. We were thrilled to learn that their French toast and biscuits and gravy were just as lovely as their curb appeal.
He carried my bag into my apartment, continuing the argument that started while we were brushing our teeth that I shouldn’t go to my apartment; I should just go straight to his house. I maintained that I needed to go home and get clean clothes. I needed my computer for work. And he had things he needed to do too. He kept talking about checking on the project he left behind. A day apart wouldn’t kill us.
I don’t think.
“I’ll get Banks and Maddox to bring their trucks over this weekend to get your stuff,” Jess said. “Start packing, Dream Girl.”
Grinning, I tap my fingers on the screen.
Me: I just got here.
Kerissa: How did it go?
Me: I have lots to tell you. But you have A STORY TO TELL ME. You go first.
Kerissa: This one requires being face-to-face and alcohol. Can I come over tonight?
Me: Yes. What time?
Kerissa: Eight sound good? I have a hair appointment at four and it takes her for-ev-er.
Me: Okay, Ham.
Kerissa: Okay, Squints.
Me: That was a great movie.
Surely, Jess has watched The Sandlot. I’ll have to ask. I smile. There’s so much to learn about him.
But there’s no rush. I have a long time—maybe the rest of my life.
I consider telling Kerissa about my news but wait. I’ll surprise her tonight.
Kerissa: See you then.
Me: Bye.
I open my contacts and find Bridgit’s number. At worst, I can leave her a message. I want her to know how great the retreat went.
“Bridgit Cooperton speaking,” she says.
“Hi, Bridgit. It’s Pippa.”
“Pippa, hello. How are you? Are you back from Silver Springs?”
I get to my feet and wander aimlessly around the apartment, taking in all the little things I’ll have to get ready by the weekend.
“Yes. I got home a few minutes ago. It’s already so late in the day, so I didn’t plan on coming in the office until tomorrow.”
“Take tomorrow off. We’re having a staff meeting and that won’t really apply to you anyway since you’ll be moving jobs. Enjoy a long weekend.”
I could start packing now. I grin, thinking about Jess’s reaction when he sees that I got started without him. He’ll love that.
“Wow. Thanks, Bridgit. I appreciate it.”
“So tell me about the trip. How did it go? What did we learn?”
“I wish you could see the smile on my face. That would tell you all you need to know.”
“Oh. Did things go well with your ex-husband?” She chuckles. “Chuck got fired yesterday, by the way. But we can get into that next week.”
Chuck got fired? My eyes bug out of my head. “I have so many questions.”
“Chuck was using his company email for conversations not pertaining to work,” she says. “It gets complicated, and there’s a murky line between whether what he was doing was illegal or simply against company policy. That’s being investigated. But let’s not get sidetracked—give me your thoughts from the past few days.”
Talk about throwing me a curveball …
I shake my head and set the Chuck stuff aside. Focus, Pippa.
“I’m more sold on this concept now than I was before,” I say. “Good things can happen when you just stop being distracted. When you hit pause on life for a moment and have time to think. To feel.”
My mind replays Jess on his paddleboard, pointing at turtles and fish—and the monkeys. Watching him make a marinade for the chicken tikka masala. His arm stretched over the back of the wooden booth, his cheeks pink from the wine Ted gave us at dinner and being still.
“Having a few days to get to know one another again—doing things we wouldn’t have normally done—just changed my life,” I say. “It’s hard to have conversations when you have to carve time out for them. It’s hard to prioritize things when you have work in front of you. But when you’re floating down a river with no one around but your significant other or sitting in a new restaurant trying new foods and meeting new people together … it’s making new memories. It's remembering the parts of their personality that you fell in love with.”