Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“That makes three of us,” Palmer said. “Are you ready to go across the street for some more fun?”
Charlie fist pumped. “Yes! Let’s go, you guys!”
Grabbing my hand and then Palmer’s, Charlie nearly dragged us to the park as the snow started to come down.
I softly shut Charlie’s bedroom door and made my way downstairs. I was exhausted but wasn’t ready to turn in for bed quite yet. After pouring a glass of whiskey, I grabbed a book and sat down on the sofa. My mother and father had gone out to dinner to Pete’s Place instead of going to the boat parade and weren’t home yet.
A set of headlights caught my eye.
Standing, I watched as someone pulled into the driveway I shared with Palmer. It wasn’t her car, and it only took me a moment to figure out who it was.
Deacon Parker.
It was childish of me, but I grabbed my cell phone and called Palmer.
“Hey, is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I just got Charlie to bed. He was wound up, but I’m pretty sure he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.”
She chuckled. “It was fun. Cold, but fun.”
“Agreed.”
There was a moment of silence before she asked, “Was there something you needed?”
You.
It was on the tip of my tongue, but instead I said, “I hate to ask this, but do you think you can help me hang up the painting? My mother and father are out to dinner, and I’d like to get some advice on where to hang it.”
And I don’t want you spending time with your ex-boyfriend.
“The painting?” she asked.
“Yes, the one I bought. The one you painted. I’d like to hang it up before anything happens to it.”
“Um…ahhh…”
Had the jerk called her ahead of time to let her know he was coming over? Shit. Maybe Palmer had made plans with him. The idea of her being with him nearly sent me into a tailspin.
“If you’ve got plans, I totally understand,” I said. “I’m sure my parents will be back soon, and my mom can help me decide where to hang it up.”
“No!” Palmer said. “I mean, no, I don’t have any plans. I do, however, have an ex-boyfriend who doesn’t seem to understand my world does not revolve around him.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, pretending I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Nothing. Let me take some garbage out and then I’ll head up to the house.”
“Do you want me to come get you?” I asked. “It’s cold and snowing.”
She laughed. “First off, I literally live less than a minute from you. I can manage walking. And second, when you’ve lived your whole life in Maine, you aren’t afraid to walk outside in the cold and snow, Mason.”
I smiled. “I did grow up in Boston, Palmer. But okay, I’ll leave the back door open for you.”
“Thanks, give me ten minutes.”
After hanging up, I began to pace the living room. What was she saying to Deacon? Was he finally getting the idea that Palmer wanted nothing to do with his ass? Maybe I should have offered to help her—but she hadn’t realized that I knew her ex was there.
Glancing up at the clock for the tenth time, I grabbed my jacket and started for the back door. Twenty minutes had passed since I’d hung up with Palmer.
Before I reached the door, it swung inward and Palmer stomped her feet on the rug to remove any loose snow.
She looked up and smiled. “Sorry. It took me longer than I thought it would.”
“Um, no worries. I was just going to make sure you didn’t get stuck in a snow drift.”
She laughed as she took off her gloves, hat, and scarf. “It’s really coming down.”
I took off my jacket and hung it back up on a hook next to the back door. Then I took Palmer’s and did the same. She placed her other items on the bench.
“Did you see the weather?” she said. “They didn’t think this storm would make it to the coast, but it sounds like we might be getting more snow than they thought.”
Nodding, I said, “I heard something like that.”
She stood there with a smile on her face. “So, do you want to do it?”
I was pretty sure my eyes went wide. “Do it?”
“Yeah,” she said as she walked past me and through the large, updated kitchen to the living room. “I mean, it’s about damn time.”
Blinking a few times, I had to adjust myself when the image of taking Palmer on the living room sofa popped into my head.
“I thought you didn’t want to…” My voice trailed off when I saw that she had stopped in front of the painting that was on the floor, leaning against the wall.
Glancing over her shoulder, she frowned slightly. “You thought I didn’t want to what?
It was then I realized that she had been talking about hanging the painting. I felt like an idiot, and my growing hard-on deflated immediately.