Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“You think I’m cute?” I teased, fishing for compliments.
“Stop it, you know I do.” He reached for the chain of my swing and pulled it toward him so he could plant a kiss on my mouth.
“Wow. My being pregnant is making you horny.”
“My being horny has literally nothing to do with your being pregnant.” He paused. “Dude, that sentence is so freaky. It’s, like, not something I thought I’d say until I was like, thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five! Did you never imagine yourself as being a dad or what?”
“Yeah, of course I always thought I would have kids.” He’d gone quiet and thoughtful. “Actually, out of the four of us, I guess it makes the most sense that I would be the one who’s a young father.”
“How so?”
“’Cause you know, I was always the one who wanted a relationship when none of the other three did. Ironically they’re the one’s with steady girlfriends, and here I was, the one alone every night. Plot twist: gonna be a dad. Still no girlfriend.”
Still no girlfriend.
Still.
No.
Girlfriend.
Ouch.
Kind of stung a little despite it being the truth.
I am not Drew’s girlfriend.
I can’t even call myself a one-night stand ’cause look how that turned out for us both.
A cautionary tale of banging without protection.
Ha.
Funny, not at all funny.
Still. There seems to be a magnetic pull between the two of us; and I wondered out loud, “What do you supposed would have happened between the two of us if we’d done this sooner?”
“Gotten pregnant sooner?”
“No.” I laughed. “Dated. Or…if I’d told you I liked you and you’d done something about it then.”
“Maybe we didn't have the chance to date before all of this, but I believe everything happens for a reason.”
I tilted my head. "And what reason do you think brought us here, Drew?"
“I don’t know.” He laughed. “I’m just tryin’ to be optimistic. It’ll at least give us one helluva story to tell our kid when it’s older. The ultimate story of How I Met Your Mother.”
“Except you already knew me.”
“I mean, knew you knew you, if you catch my drift.”
I swatted at him, reaching across the swing to give his arm a tap, and he uses that opportunity to kiss me again.
This.
This was all I wanted—the chance to kiss him and have him touch me.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
All I wanted was Drew Colter to notice me, and well—he’s noticed me all right!!
And now I have to tell him that the media has noticed us, too.
I walk into Miranda’s small kitchen, ready to break the news.
"So. We need to talk.”
He was about to check his phone but sees me and sets it down. “Again?”
He’s grinning, but concern crosses his face when he notices my expression. "Shit. Sorry, what's going on?"
I sit across from him, my fingers nervously tapping against the tabletop. "While we were at the park earlier, we were... photographed."
I whisper the word as if someone is going to jump out of the closet and take more pictures.
He looks confused. "Photographed? By who?"
"The paparazzi," I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. "They took pictures of us—Miranda texted.”
Drew lifts his phone off the counter and looks at the screen, holding it toward me. He has a million text message notifications on his screen.
Dang.
He’s way more popular than I am, ha.
His jaw tightens, his expression shifting from confusion to anger. "They invaded our privacy like that? We’re in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. How did they find me?"
Let me count the ways…
“You’re kind of hard not to notice, and I’m sure you were spotted at the airport, all six foot something of you. Without a ball cap, Drew? Shame, shame.”
He runs a hand through his hair, his agitation palpable. "Dammit. This is exactly what I was afraid of."
“Soo…what do we do?”
Hide?
Flip off the next pap we see?
He lets out a frustrated sigh, his gaze locked onto the table. "We can't just let this slide. I need to do something about it."
"Drew, I get that you're angry," I say, my voice gentle, "but what can we really do? The paparazzi are relentless, and confronting them might just make things worse."
He looks up at me, determination in his eyes. "I can talk to Drake’s agent, and have him deal with it. We need to protect our privacy, Tess. Especially now, with everything that's going on."
“I get that, Drew, but going after them might just give them more attention. We're already in the spotlight because of the baby news, and we don't need any more drama."
His grip tightens on his phone, his frustration evident. "Tess, I can't just let them get away with invading our privacy like this. It's not right."
I chew on my lower lip, thoughts racing through my brain as I consider his words. "Okay, I understand your point. Maybe we can find a middle ground. Let's see if we can handle it discreetly without drawing more attention to ourselves. Hang out at the park and invite them to a picnic?"