Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
My brows lift. “Barbeque Rodeo Palace? That sounds exciting. A little confusing, but exciting.”
“Right?” She laughs, her dimple popping in that way that makes me want to kiss it, to kiss her.
Fuck, I’m so glad I’m done with work and get to sit up front with her for the rest of the drive to the park. That’s all it takes to make me feel like I’ve won the lottery, just the chance to be close to her.
“We are about thirty minutes ahead of schedule,” she adds, batting her lashes at me. “Since I’m such a fantastic driver and all. We should have time to stop and still make it to the park in plenty of time to set up camp and get a short hike in before dinner.”
“Let’s do it,” I say, tapping my credit card to the sensor. “But fair warning, I’m a filthy animal with a plate of ribs. I’ll have to wear a bib.”
She winks as she backs away. “Hot. I can’t wait to see that.”
I waggle my brows, mouthing, “Bibs make you horny?”
Laughing, she nods, before turning and jogging toward the grass, Freya in her arms. Making a mental note to procure an extra bib to take with us to the park, one I can use to surprise Tessa with a “bib only” strip tease later tonight, I start filling the tank, scrolling through my texts while I wait.
I always turn off my notifications while I’m working, so I’m not surprised to have a few messages waiting. I am, however, surprised to see that one is from Darcy.
Stomach tightening, I scroll past the text from my mother asking if I remembered to pack sunscreen, opening the message from my ex that reads—Hey, Wes. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And I’ve decided I don’t want to be mad anymore.
The tension in my jaw releases with an audible pop as I continue to read.
Yes, what you did was shitty, but…what I did was shitty, too. I knew you were going to break up with me when you got back from your camping trip. I just knew it. And I knew I should have kept the pregnancy scare news to myself until I had time to find out if I really was pregnant.
The text is followed by a gif of a stuffed bear looking ashamed of itself, which doesn’t really feel appropriate considering the seriousness of the topic, but is very Darcy.
In her next message, she continues, But I didn’t keep it to myself. I told you, partly to shame you into staying with me. And I held off telling you that I’d started my period for about six weeks after I knew we were in the clear.
My head rears back. That’s the first I’m hearing about that. As far as I knew, she didn’t start her period again until a couple weeks before we broke up. We weren’t sleeping together anymore at that point, so I had to take her word for it.
So, I guess I lied, too, she adds in the next text.
“You guess?” I mutter to myself, scowling at the screen.
I’m sorry about that. And I’m sorry for letting my ego and hurt feelings take control this past weekend. I’ll make sure Daria leaves you and Tessa alone from now on. I’ve already hired someone to take down the billboard with your face on it. Though the devil horns and dead tooth did kind of make me laugh. *smiling emoji* Hope you’re okay and…sorry again. I don’t think we’ll ever be friends, but I do wish you well. I hope whoever you end up with makes you happy.
“Everything okay?” Tessa asks.
I glance up, considering sharing the message with her, but deciding the less said about my ex, the better. Tessa and I are finally moving on from all the Darcy drama, and I don’t want to do anything to derail that.
Tucking my cell back in my pocket, I nod and smile, “Yeah, everything’s great. I’m excited about barbeque and hikes and hunting treasure tomorrow.”
She bounces up and down with a soft squeal, echoed by Freya who clucks in excitement and runs back and forth at our feet. “I can’t wait. I’m ridiculously excited about this treasure hunt, Wes. Even if we don’t find anything, it’ll be a real adventure. I haven’t had enough of those in my life.”
“Then we’ll have to keep adventure high on our priority list,” I say as I slide the gas nozzle back into its holder. “Make up for lost time.”
She smiles up at me. “That sounds good. I like making up for lost time with you.”
“Same,” I assure her, sealing the words with a kiss.
An hour later, I’m kissing her again, this time while wearing a Wild Bill’s Barbeque Rodeo Palace bib and a plastic crown with the words “King of the Rib Plate” emblazoned across the front.