Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Once I was in the safety of the ladies’ room, I ran into the first stall, locking the door behind me. I sat down on the lid of the toilet and tried not to cry, but tears angrily forced themselves out.
What the hell kind of person am I having dinner with?
In an effort to comfort myself, I pulled out Cale’s card. Just seeing his name typed across the front brought a smile to my lips. I wanted to call him—I really did—but I needed to deal with the situation I was in first and foremost.
How am I going to get through this dinner with Sam without setting him off any further?
Feeling defeated, I left my temporary sanctuary in the stall. When I reached the sink to wash my hands, I couldn’t help but look at my reflection. I didn’t like my reflection. Weakness was all I saw in the girl who peered back at me. It was time to lift my chin and finish what I had allowed to start.
This is why I don’t date.
After leaving the ladies’ room, I was turning the corner when I crashed right into my favorite rock-hard chest. His smells assaulted me as I sniffed him like a freaking dog. His arms instinctively engulfed me like they’d done every other time we’d met like this. He must have felt how much I needed him because he gently tugged at the back of my hair, tilting my head upwards, and brushed a kiss to my forehead. The tranquility of our embrace left me momentarily forgetting about the terrible evening I had been having until this moment.
Cale is such a calming force.
Even though I had my own plans for my life, fate had other ideas because she kept slamming me into Cale as if to knock a little sense into me.
I pulled back and looked into his comforting, blue eyes. “Cale,” I breathed.
“Lia,” he whispered back and bent over, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
The sweet kisses weren’t enough and I needed more from him. I opened my mouth so he could slip his tongue in. As he teased my tongue with his, I noticed that he still tasted minty and manly like earlier.
Yummy.
My perfect moment was shattered by an angry voice behind Cale.
“What the hell, Lia?” Sam barked.
I jumped with a squeak from being caught.
Obviously not liking Sam’s tone, Cale spun around in one swift movement while pulling me behind him.
“Who the fuck are you?” Cale demanded as he glared at Sam, hands fisted at his sides.
I squeezed Cale’s arm, unsure what to do but needing to touch him. All I could do was cower behind him and watch the drama unfold.
Definitely a social imbecile.
“I’m her date. Who the fuck are you?” Sam retorted nastily, taking a step towards us.
Cale immediately tensed at his words, not his proximity.
Shit.
Cale knew that I didn’t date. This wasn’t exactly how I planned for this evening to go.
“Bullshit. Lia doesn’t date and she certainly wouldn’t waste her time with a loser like you, so back the fuck off,” Cale practically growled, his jaw clenching and unclenching.
Unsure what to do but definitely not wanting this to escalate, I spoke up. “Cale, I am having dinner with Sam. We’re friends. I was just about to tell you,” I uttered weakly.
Cale turned around and looked at me, clearly trying to figure out how I could turn him down every single time yet do exactly what I’d said I wouldn’t do with another man.
His hand reached up and touched my face. A question.
With tears welling up, I frowned. An answer.
“I see,” is all he said to me with a pained expression in his eyes before spinning on his heels and stalking out of the hallway and back into the restaurant.
My heart actually hurt to see him walk away.
Surprising me, Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards our table. “Our dinner has been served. We better get back before it turns cold,” he stated simply, as if the events that had just unfolded hadn’t happened.
Without knowing what else to say, I nodded and followed him back to the table.
Meet Lia, social imbecile extraordinaire.
I AM GOING to kill that motherfucker.
That douche was not about to stake a claim on Lia when I could read loud and clear that she was not into him. The way he’d burst into that hallway acting like she belonged to him pissed me off so badly that my appetite was completely gone. My desire to punch him in the fucking face was so strong that I had to leave immediately. I stalked out to my truck to clear my head.
Why would Lia even entertain the idea of going to dinner with that guy?
She and I definitely had a connection that was getting stronger every time I saw her, yet she was dining with that dickwad. I needed to talk to her about this guy because there was no way I could share her. Not after the intense moments we’d already shared.