Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Is that right?”
“No joke.” Goose nodded his head toward me as he added, “Sitting here with this one is about as fun as watching paint dry.”
“Not like you’ve made things any better. You’re like listening to Dad give one of his club financial reports. Hell, I’ve had to count backward in my head just to drown you out.”
“I’m the best thing that’s happened to you all week.”
“I just had a colonoscopy, so that’s not saying much.”
“Okay, boys,” Toni interrupted. “Play nice.”
“Yeah, Memphis,” Goose scolded. “Play nice. We wouldn’t want to scare off your guest.”
It was clear Goose was into Toni. Hell, it was written all over his face, and it was tough to keep my jealousy in check. He was a tall, good-looking guy with two working legs, and he was laying it on thick. Toni gave him a warm smile. “That’s okay. I don’t scare off that easily.”
“Hmmm. If that’s the case.” He cocked his brow. “Come have a cup of coffee with me.”
She glanced over at me, and I kept my expression blank, doing what I could to hide the turmoil inside. I was expecting her to take him up on his offer, but she quickly replied, “I appreciate the offer and all, but I wanted to visit with Weston for a bit.”
“We could always go a little later?” Goose was relentless but charming enough to get away with it. He gave her one of his smiles as he said, “There’s a coffee joint downstairs.”
“Okay. Maybe.” Toni stepped over to me and asked, “How ya making it today?”
“Not bad.”
Goose stepped back, leaning against the wall, still watching her with that infuriatingly charming gaze. I wanted to punch the asshole right in the throat. I gave him a warning look as I told him, “If you’re done flirtin’ with Antonia, maybe you could give us a minute.”
“Oh, I’m not done. Hell, I’m just gettin’ started.” Goose gave her a wink. “But I’ll give you a minute.”
Goose walked out of the room, leaving Toni shaking her head with a smile. “Your friend is quite a character.”
“You have no idea.”
We continued talking, and she shared about her day, and I told her about mine. I was tempted to tell her that I was starting to get more feelings in my legs and how it’d given me more mobility, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I kept it to myself. I was enjoying my time with her. It was nice. There was no awkwardness or unease, and I didn’t want to mess it up.
But like most moments between us, it didn’t last long.
I don’t know if it was something she said or something I did, but one minute we were laughing and then, we weren’t. In the silence, she looked over at me in a way that had me looking at her, and the longing in her eyes had me thinking things I had no business thinking. My cock started to stir, and for the first time in weeks, my mind wasn’t consumed with thoughts about my legs.
Instead, they were all about her.
I wanted to stay wrapped up in that moment with her for as long as possible, but as luck would have it, Goose strolled back into the room, and it was over. “You ready for that coffee?”
Toni held my gaze for a moment, and when I didn’t say anything, she stood and sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
And with that, they both walked out of the room, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.
Damn.
Antonia
“I gotta say, I’m kind of surprised you agreed to come have coffee with me.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know. Guess I didn’t figure I was your type.”
“Not my type?”
“Yeah, you know what I mean.”
“No, I’m curious. What do you think is my type?”
“Aw, I don’t know. I figured you were into those finance guys with their business suits and leather briefcases. You know, the ones who think their shit don’t stink.”
He’d just described my father, and the thought of him made my stomach take a nosedive. I’d talked to my father multiple times since I’d arrived in Little Rock, but he’d never once mentioned his money struggles. I wanted to believe that Preacher had been wrong, but my gut told me otherwise, and it hurt my feelings that he hadn’t been honest with me.
It was those hurt feelings that had me replying, “Yeah, I know exactly who you are talking about, and no. That’s not my type at all. I’m not sure I even have a type.”
“Okay, so we’ve established that. What else can you tell me about yourself?”
“What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know.” Goose gave me one of his infectious smiles, and it was impossible not to smile right back at him. “How ‘bout you start with the basics?”
“Okay. Easy enough.”
The coffee shop was a cozy little place tucked away on the bottom floor of the hospital. It wasn’t very crowded, which made it easy for us to place our order and find a place to sit, but it made it feel a little too intimate for just a friendly cup of coffee.