Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“He’s a schmuck.”
I laughed. “He is.”
“You know, your dad has some very handsome single men on the Mavericks. Have you ever thought about any of them?”
Like Michael Boone?
Yeah, no.
“Nope. That’s a hard line for Dad and I don’t blame him. How embarrassing would it be if I was sleeping with his players and guys were talking about me in the locker room?” I shuddered at the thought.
“Did I say anything about multiple players? What about that nice Sawyer Cain? He’s a widower now.”
“Grandma, stop.” I pulled into a parking space at the restaurant and looked at her. “I’ll find someone when I’m ready. It’s not now.”
At least, that was the plan.
I was late getting to my lab in the morning and of course, my father called me as I was walking into the building.
“Hi, Dad. I’m running late—is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” His gruff voice always made me smile, even when he drove me crazy. “I just wanted to talk for a few minutes.”
“Well, I’ve got about three minutes until I get upstairs.”
“Jarvis called. He said you haven’t thanked him for the chocolate.”
Ah, there it was.
I’d been expecting it, but enough was enough already.
“Daddy, I love you, but you have to stop,” I said quietly. “It’s over. Do you really think I want to be with a man who doesn’t find me attractive? Is that what you want for me? Is that how you feel about Mom?”
Dad was quiet for a long time, and I stopped walking, waiting for his response because I didn’t want to have this conversation in the lab.
“Sweetheart, I just want to be sure you marry someone who’ll take care of you. You’re so lost in that lab of yours most of the time, you’ll be one of those old ladies with nothing but books and four hundred cats.”
“I’m allergic to cats, so we’re safe from that scenario.”
He sighed. “Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?”
“I wonder where that comes from?” I countered.
“You do have a point.”
“Look, I’m already late. I have to go. See you at dinner on Sunday. Love you.” I quickly disconnected the call and took the stairs two at a time.
“Morning!” Corrine gave me a grin.
How was she always so happy?
“Look who it is.” Ellen glanced at her watch. “Only fourteen minutes late.”
“I was here until midnight last night,” I said, yanking on my lab coat.
“How else are you going to finish your dissertation?”
I ignored her as I booted up my computer and opened my email.
Crap.
Once again, the results weren’t what I’d been hoping for, which meant starting this part over. Again.
“No good?” Corrine asked sympathetically, looking over at me.
“Nope. Dammit, why does this keep happening?”
“Maybe if you had your mind on science instead of boys, you’d have better results.” Ellen’s voice made me want to throw something at her.
“My mind is right where it needs to be,” I muttered.
“Trust me,” she said, perching on the edge of my desk. “You’re better off without a man. They’re nothing but trouble. And obviously, it’s impacting your progress.”
“I just broke off an engagement,” I said, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. “It’s only natural to take a few weeks to grieve, get past it.”
“Well, that’s fine, but you’ll only have yourself to blame when your research goes to shit.” She walked away chuckling and I shot her the bird. From under my desk where no one could see it.
We’d butted heads from the start. She wasn’t in charge of my project, but she was tight with our PI, the primary investigator who ran the lab. Dr. Archie Matello could derail my academic career if I wasn’t careful, and Ellen was his handpicked protégé.
“Ignore her,” Corrine said. “She just needs to get laid.”
“Don’t we all?”
She giggled. “Not me. This guy I’m seeing is freakin’ amazing. He works in the physics lab and I have to say, I highly recommend dating a nerd. They’ve spent their whole lives thinking about sex, so when they finally get some, all they care about is pleasing you.” She fanned herself dramatically.
“Do you ever think about anything but sex?” I teased.
She squinted. “Is that a trick question? Don’t you think about sex?”
“Well, sure, but not constantly.”
“Danny and I had a one-night stand a few months ago that rocked my world. I think he ruined me for all other men because it was so good, but I didn’t think he was my type. Then we ran into each other on campus and I decided to give him a chance. And you know what? Once you get past the nerdy exterior, there’s a lot of sexy man beneath.”
“I’ll bet.” I’d met Danny a few times and he seemed nice enough, but I didn’t get sexy vibes from him. Of course, what did I know? Jarvis had a pretty sexy exterior and had turned out to be a dud both on the inside and in the bedroom.