Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
“Why’d you buy it?”
“Because I’m twenty-five and have impulsive tendencies.”
She cracks up laughing. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“It’s what I’m calling it. Was it a smart investment? Ask me in fifty years when it sells for ten times what I paid. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy driving it every chance I get.”
“I didn’t know you were a car enthusiast.” She looks out the window, but when she angles toward me, she says, “We have so much to learn about each other.”
“That’s half the fun.”
“What’s the other half consist of?”
I reach across the console and rest my hand on her leg. “For us, I think it will be learning to navigate these new waters.”
“And here I thought you were going to say sex.”
“Seems I’ve created a monster.”
She rests her hand on mine and drags it a little higher. If I’m not mistaken, she wants my hand under the skirt of her dress instead of on top. If I go where we both want me to, the car might end in an accident. There’s plenty of time to act reckless once we return to the city tonight. “I wish I could deny that allegation, but I can’t.”
I will never grow tired of hearing her happiness. It’s something I couldn’t imagine I’d be sharing with her not long ago, but here we are, dating in all senses of the meaning. Sure, I didn’t make it official, but we’re both on board. Hell, she’s even met my dad, and more family shortly.
To say arriving at the university theater is the worst timing ever is not nearing how I actually wish we had taken a detour to the lake. A little making out. A lot of other activities to follow . . . It would have been a good time, and my sister would have been none the wiser since I’m surprising her.
But since that option is not on the table, I pull up to the valet stand.
Once inside, we get drinks. She sticks with wine, and I go with a bottle of water. The drive back to the house at night is tricky, with few lights illuminating the roads in the middle of the country. At one time, I drove that road under the influence without a second thought, but now, I’m not willing to risk our lives. A sign of maturity? About time.
We make our way down the aisle. Liv slides down the row to our seats, and I follow. She stops to greet her neighbor before sitting down.
I hear the neighbor reply and momentarily freeze. “Mom?” I sit forward to come face-to-face with her while Liv rests back.
“Noah.” My mom pops from her seat.
I stand and hug her. “Hey, Mom, how are you doing?”
“Much better now that I’m seeing you.” My mom has always had a way of making her kids all feel like they’re special. I can only hope I can make my kids feel the same. Kids . . . Max. Guilt riddles my conscience. I didn’t tell my dad, and now as I look at my mom, I realize how wrong it is to keep him a secret.
I can’t just throw this information out there like it doesn’t matter. They should meet him or at least have time to process when I do tell them.
My knee bumps Liv’s, and I sit back down. “Mom, I want you to meet Liv Bancroft.”
She’s hugged before she has a chance to shoot out her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Liv. I’m Delta Westcott, Noah’s mom,” my mom says with such pride as she looks back and forth between the two of us.
“It’s very nice to meet you, too—” The lights go down, cutting Liv off. She whispers, “We’ll talk during intermission.”
“Yes.” My mom starts clapping as the curtain goes up as if this is the first time she’s seeing the play. Some kids do a lot of wrong in their parents’ eyes, but not my mom. Her kids hung the moon that she dances under every night.
We join in the applause as the first actors take the stage.
By the time intermission rolls around, the three of us get in line for another round of drinks. My mom says, “It’s always good to see my son, but what a treat that I get to meet one of his friends.”
The “one of” stands out to me, but I know she doesn’t mean anything by it, so I hope Liv also lets it slide. We step to the side with our drinks and talk. Liv looks so beautiful that taking my eyes off her is hard. Fingers snap in front of my face, though, so I turn to my mom. “Yes?”
“Liv was telling me that you work together.”
“We do.” A few seconds late in returning to my senses, I add, “Well, we met a few years ago but reconnected when I joined the company.”