Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
I blink faster. “Wow. You’re…”
“Crazy?” he supplies.
I shake my head. “Brave.”
“Nah,” he says, his grin dimming a watt or two. “If I were brave, I would have told her I was leaving. I just can’t handle the drama right now. I’ve had my fill of that for the next thirty or forty years.”
I furrow my brow sympathetically. “I understand. My mother and Binx had a big blow-up fight last fall. The tension only lasted a month or so, but it nearly gave me an ulcer. I can’t handle conflict.”
“I can handle it,” he says, “just not if there’s no chance of the conflict being resolved. My parents refuse to see that my brother isn’t a good doctor. Even if they could see, I doubt it would change their minds. They’ve always gone out of their way to pander to Petey. But I can’t play along anymore, not when the lives and well-being of my patients could be at risk.” He exhales a soft laugh. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to dump on you.”
“No, it’s fine,” I say. “Feel free.”
“I just don’t have anyone else to talk to. I’m keeping the move top secret from everyone I know until I’m on my way out of town.” He smiles before adding in a softer voice, “And you have kind eyes.”
“Thanks,” I say. “You, too.”
His eyes are kind, but they’re also…magnetic. They hold me in thrall as he braces his hand on the railing beside me and leans closer, whispering, “So, what do you think? Should we bail on this whole scene? I have a bottle of wine and some fantastic maple cookies at my place.”
“I love maple cookies,” I murmur, even as my thoughts race.
A bottle of wine and cookies…
And his body is now very close to mine…
His dazzling eyes more sparkly than ever…
Could this…
Is he…
“Are you asking me to have sex with you?” I blurt out with another snort I’m too shocked to be embarrassed about.
He laughs, a tad uncomfortably, I think. “Um, well, no. I thought we could enjoy the wine, cookies, and conversation, and…see where things lead. But if you’re looking for that kind of evening, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” He flashes another charming grin. “As I said, you’re beautiful. Stunning, really.”
I fight the urge to snort-giggle and fail. “Oh my God, sorry,” I say, still laughing. “I just.. I can’t… Wow, this is…”
He steps back, running a hand through his hair. “No, don’t apologize, please. I deserve to be laughed at. That was cheesy as hell. I’m the one who should be sorry. I was in a relationship for so long, I’ve clearly forgotten how to flirt in a normal, not-weird way.”
“No, you were normal,” I say. “Well, I think you were, anyway. I’ve never had anyone ask me home for ‘wine and cookies’ before.”
It’s his turn to snort. “Yeah, right.”
“Seriously,” I insist. “I’ve never had anyone come on to me like that. Ever.”
His eyes widen. “Are the guys in your orbit blind?”
“No, they see just fine.” I shrug as I push my glasses up my nose. “They see that I’m a nerdy woman with five giant older brothers and two extremely tough older sisters. Not to mention all my cousins and uncles and my family’s very protective pets. With those odds, no one around here wants to fork around and find out what happens if they try to take me home.”
He nods slowly, seeming to roll all that over for a beat. “I can see that, I guess. But someone should have stepped up and taken a chance. I have a feeling you’d be worth it.”
“Thanks,” I say, my cheeks heating. The words might have sounded cheesy from someone else, but he seems so sincere, so kind.
Would it be so bad to go home with this man? To drink his wine and eat his cookies? To make out with his sexy face and…maybe see a penis for the first time in real life?
My heart develops a case of the hiccups at the mere thought of it, but still, I don’t step away or start back toward the ballroom.
“I’d ask you out on a real date myself if I weren’t leaving so soon,” he says, his hands sliding into the pockets of his suit pants. “But I learned how rough long-distance relationships are the hard way, so…”
“Well, we um…” I trail off, my heart racing as my tongue slips out to wet my lips.
Am I really considering this?
Just mere minutes after thinking about how much I enjoy being a virgin?
But then, maybe I would enjoy being not-a-virgin just as much, if I got to lose it to a man like this. And as far as I’m concerned, the fact that he’s going away is a feature, not a bug. It would eliminate all the stress from the encounter. Even if the nookie is awful, I’ll only have to risk running into him around town for a couple of days. If necessary, I could hide out in my apartment and live on ramen noodles and scrambled eggs for that long.