Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Thank you.” I squeezed him to me and dropped a kiss to his shoulder. “You’re all mine, right?”
“Hey.” He cupped the back of my neck and made me look him in the eye. “What you said last night—we were never casual. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was gonna be able to move on that soon. So I wanna say it’s been just you and me since this summer.”
Good. Fuck, that was good. And felt good to hear. “Same here.” I leaned in for a quick kiss. “The jitters get worse when I think about people getting in our way or me fucking things up.”
“Those are the bad jitters.” He scratched my neck and up in my hair, instantly giving me a moment’s peace. I closed my eyes because it felt so nice. “We’ll work on those together, yeah? We’re both new at this. We’ll be careful in the beginning until we find solid ground to land on. How’s that?”
I smiled lazily and forced my eyes to open again. “You say all the right things, Wilder. Except when you tell me to leave.”
He chuckled and rested his forehead to mine. “Believe me, baby, I wish I didn’t have to.”
Sweet Jesus, the way he made me feel. I rode out the shiver of utter bliss and gave him one more kiss. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He nodded as I stepped back. “Bring an overnight bag. Which reminds me—” He went into the hallway, missing out on my cheesy grin—something that was probably for the best—and returned with a key. “Make it a late dinner and drop off your boys and your things here before you come to the restaurant. Then you can stay until we close.”
I liked that idea. I accepted the key and felt like maybe that was significant. At least for me.
“It looks like it’s gonna be a nice day, so I might walk to work.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle. “You’re gonna walk all the way to the marina?”
He laughed through his nose. “It’s not that far—and I like walking.”
Yeah, right. He just wanted to drive my truck home later.
“Don’t hitch rides from strangers, darlin’.” I offered a two-finger wave and reluctantly turned back to the truck. “Feel free to send me cute texts today. I think I’m gonna take it easy and check out yard sales and some stores online. I’mma need a sturdy bed in the guesthouse.”
“A four-poster would be cool,” he mentioned. “I got ropes.”
I grinned and jumped into my truck. “Such a flirt, Wilder.”
He smirked. “See you tonight, Kidd.”
I could hardly wait.
Ten
Over the next several days, I balanced my obsession for being with Sebastian with finishing the guesthouse.
Nine hours to go, no time to waste. I was showing Soph this house tonight when she got back from Seattle with Teddy, so help me.
Hardwood floors, done. Spotlights installed in the ceiling, done. Paint job, done.
Dylan was coming over this afternoon to assemble the bed and the rest of the furniture while I made final touches, such as the kitchen bar’s heavy oak top that needed to be resized and treated. But hell, this place already looked good. It had everything a guesthouse needed. A small bedroom, just big enough for a queen bed, two nightstands, and a built-in closet. A bathroom with the basics. A tiny kitchen with a bar that seated two. The living room area, which took up most of the downstairs space, would have two small couches and one cushy chair, from where I could catch a game on the fifty-inch flat-screen about to be mounted on the wall.
My morning project consisted of adding shelves to the space underneath the narrow staircase that led to the sleeping loft. I’d already wrestled six twin beds up there. Sebastian had installed the lighting yesterday, so the only thing missing was shit Soph would be in charge of. Linens, covers, pillows. Essentially, it was gonna be an area to stash David’s kids when they visited.
The terrorizing toddlers could crash on the couches, while Mama and Daddy took the bedroom.
I grabbed the level from my tool belt and checked to make sure the next shelf was…nope. I took the pen from behind my ear and made a new mark about two millimeters below the old one. There we go.
With such limited space, I hadn’t wanted to waste any room on extra closets. I’d think creatively instead, something I knew my sister would appreciate. Hence turning the staircase into a shelving unit with drawers and cabinets. Even the kitchen bar had secret compartments, and there would be a dresser by the door too. That was plenty.
My phone rang right before I was about to pick up the drill, so I stalked over to the kitchen bar and hoped to see my new contractor’s number on the screen. Construction jobs came and went fast, and I needed confirmation that we could begin building in March—before the permits expired.