Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
“The fuck do you see? Take your ass home to your wife and kids, nosy fuck.”
He grinned his ass off all the way out the driveway while I hot footed it inside. Fuck it! I can’t keep hiding from her like this. I’d spent the last two days doing it and was beginning to feel a little bit too much like a bitch.
Tonight we’re going to set this shit straight once and for all. I don’t know if it was the alcohol talking, I’m sure it wasn’t, I’d only had a few, nowhere near enough to make me lose my shit.
But whatever the case may be, something was pushing me to go face her down once and for all and put this shit behind me. I’ll be damned if I’m going to be bobbing and weaving every time I leave my damn house.
9
Joyann
I had the holiday music playing softly in the background as I put the finishing touches on the tree. I thought for sure after I made the decision to stay here for the holidays that I’d be lonely, but things were shaping up better than I expected.
It was fun having a home to decorate on my own, instead of one where high priced designers came in a few days before the holiday and spruced everything up to look like a magazine cover.
I’d had a blast hanging the ornaments myself, and even had enough time between baking to make a wreath for the front door. All in all, my color scheme of traditional red and green with intermingling splashes of gold and silver was more than enough to put me in the spirit and erase any lingering feelings of melancholy.
I hadn’t seen my neighbor for a couple of days, not since the day he busted in here and kissed the life out of me. Between that and our little interlude in the bakeshop I’ve had more than enough steamy reminders to keep my body on the edge.
My face still turns red when I remember. Looks like I’m not as over it as I thought. I’ve been doing my best to put it behind me and move on, but my usual pep-talks don’t seem to be having the desired effect.
During the day I can keep myself busy, keep my mind occupied. But at night, alone in my bed, with nothing to distract me, my thoughts and imagination run wild.
I always imagine what could’ve happened if we hadn’t stopped. And those words he’d growled at me… Oh hell! My body gave one of those little shivers as the sweet feeling that always follows my memories of those encounters enveloped me.
I was just about to head into the kitchen to make myself a cup of hot chocolate. I was looking forward to sitting by the fire with a nice book and wiling away the rest of the evening.
With Xmas still two weeks away, there wasn’t much I had left to do. The shop wouldn’t be opening until after the New Year and I’d done everything on my end already. So for now, all I had to look forward to was the baking I planned to do for my friends and the neighbors to say thank you for welcoming me to the neighborhood, but that wasn’t for a few days yet.
I was just about to reach the kitchen when the knock came. I couldn’t imagine who it could be this late at night. I looked at my watch and was amused to realize that I now considered anything past eight o’clock late. In the city things would just be getting started.
I opened the door without looking, something else I’d learned since I moved here and came up short. It was him, Devlin, and he looked pissed. I wonder what crawled up his ass this time.
I checked to make sure there was no snow or ice on the tree branches that hung over his property. Though it had been unusually cold for this part of the country, there hadn’t been any more snow since the last time.
Well, it wasn’t the tree, so what the hell is his problem now? “What…” he didn’t even let me finish before pushing past me and walking in. The manners are strong in this one.
“Let’s get one thing straight, I don’t know what the fuck game you’re playing, but I’m not interested.” Come again. He must’ve read the confusion on my face because his crazy ratcheted up a notch.
“And don’t give me that who me innocent little girl bullshit act. I’ve been around the block a time or two and I know how your kind works.” I think he mumbled something that sounded like ‘walking around here wagging your ass’ or something along those lines.
My brows drew up high enough to reach my hairline. I would’ve blasted him but good, but I was too fascinated by the spectacle. The jerk was tying himself in knots.