Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
One of my arms cradled her back and the other was lost in her hair, which felt like silk around my fingers. My eyes closed, and my mind drifted. I wondered what it would be like if she wasn’t Pixie Hart, if she was just a regular person I met in town, maybe a summer tourist or a new neighbor. For a moment, I experienced a quick spike of envy for my brother Austin, who’d lucked out so completely when Veronica knocked on his door.
I’d never really had a long-term girlfriend. Being a Navy SEAL was notoriously tough on relationships, and working private security had kept me away from home a lot. I’d had some friends with benefits over the years, which had suited me fine—I liked my own company perfectly fine and wasn’t prone to feeling lonely—but ever since I moved back home, I’d been thinking more and more about settling down. Getting comfortable. Finding a groove. I liked the idea of being a protector and provider.
It’s just that thinking it was one thing, and doing it was another.
Kelly twitched, and I realized she’d fallen asleep in my arms. In a way, it was kind of amazing that we’d come so far in only three days, but I guess when you’re forced to spend twenty-four seven with someone in a confined space, whatever chemistry you have is going to cause a reaction faster than usual. And our chemistry was pretty damn explosive.
Lying there holding her, I wondered if it would burn out completely by the time she had to leave. Actually, I hoped it would.
Missing someone was the worst.
“Hey.”
I opened my eyes to see Kelly standing at the side of the couch, looking down at me. “Hey.” Groggy, I propped myself up on one elbow. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost five.” She held out my phone. “I got up to get some water and saw your phone over there. You’ve got messages.”
I took it from her and rubbed a hand over my face. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Can I come back where I was?”
“Sure.” I lay back and she stretched out on me again. I held the phone above her head and scrolled through my messages. “Oh. Shit. Devlin and Mabel are in town.”
“Your brother and sister?”
“Yeah. They arrived today. Devlin has some business in the area next week, but he came in a little early. And Mabel just decided on a spontaneous visit. Everyone’s getting together at my dad’s house for dinner at six.”
“You can go if you want. I promise you, I’ll be fine here. And I won’t try to escape.”
I laughed. “No?”
“No.” She picked up her head and smiled at me. “We have an understanding, you and I.”
My insides grew strangely warm when she said that. “You’re invited too,” I told her.
“To dinner at your dad’s?”
“Yes. Do you want to go?”
“I’d love to!” She scrambled off me and popped to her feet. “Do you think I have time to shower?”
“You already showered today.” I glanced at her bare legs. “But please put on some pants.”
“Xander, I showered like seven orgasms ago! I’ve gotten sweaty since then.”
I laughed. “Not sorry. But that’s fine. We’ve got some time.”
She went running down the hall, her bare feet thumping on the wood floor. The water came on in the bathroom, and I heard her pull the curtain aside and get in. Within seconds, she was singing.
I’d probably miss that too.
After dinner, we’d all gathered in the living room for a family game of Pictionary.
“Raccoon!” Devlin shouted while I tried my best to draw a fucking panda bear on a big white dry erase board. (Here’s where I mention that art is not one of my talents.)
“Mouse!” My dad removed his glasses, wiped a lens, and put them back on, like maybe it was a smudge making my giant bear look like a small rodent.
Alas.
I stared at my shitty drawing. Did pandas have bigger ears? Why couldn’t I picture one? I gave him a bushier tail and more black around the eyes.
“Platypus!” yelled Owen, the youngest member of the men’s team.
“What the hell is that thing?” Austin muttered.
“Time!” Mabel called.
“It’s a panda bear.” I shot my team a grumpy look over my shoulder. “Obviously.”
Everyone laughed as I scrubbed at it with the dry erase marker, then took my seat at one end of the L-shaped sectional couch. Austin was next to me, our dad on the other side of him. Owen, in charge of the timer, knelt by the coffee table.
“Okay, who’s up?” Devlin asked, perched on the couch arm next to me, a beer in his hand. He was tall, but built differently than I was. More like a runner—muscular, but long and lean. Not quite as wide through the shoulders. He had dark hair like Austin and me, but he had our mom’s piercing blue eyes, which he was good at using to his advantage. He also had a way with words I’d always envied. Our dad always said he could sell water to a drowning man.