Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Oh well. That was a problem for Later Sofia.
I grabbed his bag from his truck, noticing the way the smell of smoke was still thick inside it, and brought it inside for him. He rummaged through until he found a pair of boxers, some socks, a T-shirt, and a pair of shorts.
“Well, I can’t meet the governor like this, but I can at least drive home.”
“It’s casual, but casual in a ‘hero who saved Ashford from a raging forest fire’ kind of way,” I teased.
“Yeah, I think it’s the shorts that sell it,” he said.
We gathered our plates and sat down at my tiny kitchen table to eat. We were a few bites in, marked by general moans of happiness that again got me warm between the thighs, when he sat his second sandwich down and looked over at me with a bit more seriousness in his eyes.
“I’ll be honest,” he said, and a note of fear went through my body, “I’m historically not very good at relationships.”
Ahh, there it is. That’s the polite way of saying, “I have a lot of girls I bang.” At least it explained why he was so good in bed. He probably had a lot of practice.
“Neither am I,” I said truthfully. “I’ve only ever had one, but it lasted for years and ended horribly.”
He nodded, tossing a pickle in his mouth and crunching on it.
“I never could seem to get the hang of them, only because I was never really all that interested in being around the same person all the time,” he said. “But that’s… different with you.”
“Oh?” I said, trying to keep the hope out of my voice.
“Very different. I really, really like you. And I know we barely know each other, but I would like to change that.”
“Me too,” I said, feeling like my head was a balloon, barely tied by a thin string to the rest of my body. My face tingled, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Trying to remain calm was extraordinarily difficult, but I did my best. “I didn’t think I was going to meet anyone who I wanted to pursue anything with after my ex. At least not now. But I would like to see where this goes.”
“Good,” he said. “It’s settled, then. We both want to see what develops here.”
I smiled, and he returned it, and for a moment, we just sat there, staring at each other, smiling like lunatics.
“Good,” I said finally. “Now, let’s get these sandwiches in and get you off to meet the mayor.”
20
KIERAN
I didn’t know exactly what to think about things when I left Sofia’s, but I knew one thing for sure: I liked her a lot. More than just someone I could shack up with on lonely nights, but as someone that I really, truly felt comfortable with. Someone I wanted to get to know. I was absolutely mesmerized by her. The incredible sex was a bonus.
A hell of a bonus.
She seemed to feel the same way and making me lunch and washing my clothes seemed like a token of that kind of feeling. I wanted to do something to thank her for that and put it in the back of my mind to keep rolling over while I went about my day.
After a passionate kiss on the porch, I tore myself away from her, hopped in the truck, and booked it back to my place. After I had already laid down the law to the boys about dress code, there was no way a T-shirt and jeans were going to cut it if I was to stroll in there and meet the mayor and the governor.
Racing inside, I tore open my closet that was still only half unpacked and found a pair of dress khakis and a button-up shirt that had been freshly dry-cleaned before I left Nashville.
Changing as quickly as I could, I checked my texts after a sound alerted me. A new one from Sofia was in my inbox, and when I clicked it, it was simply a kissing emoji. I laughed. I forgot there was a bit of an age difference there. She was in her mid-twenties. Emojis were an entire, accepted language for that age group, and even though I was barely out of it, it still seemed silly in the best possible way.
I sent one back, unsure if that was the proper etiquette or not, and shoved the phone down in my pocket. Sprucing up quickly, I headed to the truck and revved it up, burning rubber back into town. I got there five minutes until five and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Until I saw all the other cars.
Vans and trucks with tiny satellite dishes were attached to the tops. Camera crews roamed the lawn outside of the station, some setting up to get a clear shot with a reporter standing between them. There was a large selection of spectators gathering from the nearby area, all stretching their necks to see and whispering to each other.