Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
By the time we finish eating and clean up the kitchen, I’ve told him all about being a nurse and how much I love it, more about Henry, and a little about the wedding, though I don’t want to even think about it yet. He’s been an attentive listener but hasn’t shared much at all, answering my long rambles with mostly one-word answers and the occasional grunt.
But he reacts to everything if you pay attention. His brows move incrementally when he’s surprised, his lips curl when he’s amused, and he hums thoughtfully when he’s playing something out in his mind. He’s quiet, but it’s a completely different conversation than the ones I have with the silent people at work.
Or with Henry, a tiny voice whispers.
I don’t like to admit it, but it’s true.
Henry is a great guy—handsome, smart, and nice—but he also gives me grief for my rambling. To be fair, he’s also usually multitasking with his attention divided between me and his phone. I could be chattering away about giant purple people eaters attacking the city and Henry would probably say, ‘Wow.’
Cole isn’t like that. In fact, I bet I could pop-quiz him on everything I’ve said tonight and he’d probably be able to quote me verbatim. He’s that engaged.
“Good night,” Cole says as he walks me to the ladder-like stairs. It vaguely feels like getting walked to the door after a first date, but that’s wrong. This is nothing like a date. It’s just two people making the best of a difficult situation.
Yep, that’s it. Nothing to see here, nothing inappropriate, nothing weird at all.
“Sleep tight, don’t let the boogieman bite,” I finish suddenly, then explain. “That’s how my Grandma always said it. Not good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite. Said she wasn’t inviting bugs anywhere near her bed so she refused to say it the regular way.” I smile as a memory replays in my mind. “One time, I asked her about inviting the boogieman, which, to me, seemed way worse than bed bugs, but she laughed and said that he was too scared of getting her frying pan upside the head to come around so she’d take her chances.”
His lips twitch up at the corners, and he repeats, “Don’t let the boogieman bite.” I decide to take the win and leave on a high note so he doesn’t change his mind and kill me in my sleep.
I start to climb, wondering if he’s going to stare at my ass as I go up, but a glance behind me shows that he’s already turned away and is striding toward the couch. He’s being gentlemanly again, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that I’m a teeny-tiny bit disappointed.
I shouldn’t be. He’s being respectful, a rare and unexpected trait.
But in a weird way, tonight was . . . fun. More fun than I’ve had in a long time. Not once did Cole seem annoyed with me or like he was tuning out our conversation, and I enjoyed pushing to see if I could crack his stoic exterior.
Lying in bed, I stare at the lofted ceiling and listen. I hear Cole spread out a blanket and the creaking of the couch as he lies down. He takes a few deep breaths and then his breathing goes steady and even.
Is that it? That’s all it takes for him to go to sleep?
Good for him. In my experience, it takes a quiet head, a clear conscience, and a happy heart to sleep that easily. Or some good medications.
I’m usually a pretty good sleeper too, especially after a long shift. But tonight? With a stranger sleeping below who might hear my snoring and decide to murder me after all just to shut me up? And an entire evening’s worth of conversations to replay in my mind and obsess over?
I think I’ll toss and turn for a while. Probably.
CHAPTER 4
COLE
I’m up before the sun, which isn’t unusual for me on assignment. In the darkness, I can hear Janey snoring away, like even in sleep, she can’t be quiet.
There used to be an adage about women having something like ten thousand words a day. Whoever came up with that never met Janey. I think she has ten thousand words per hour. Over dinner, I heard all about her job, her patients, and some guy she works with, Mason, and his facial hair escapades. I heard almost every detail of her daily life.
What I didn’t hear as much about is this boyfriend she says is coming to meet her for a romantic getaway, which is odd. But I didn’t ask questions. Or at least not about that. I didn’t have to. Janey kept a running commentary about everything and nothing.
It was entertaining. It was enjoyable. Those are not things I usually associate with being around other people. People are annoying. They lie, cheat, do things that only serve themselves, and hurt others. I see it every day. Hell, I profit from it.