Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 145231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“It’s decided. We’ll go with girlfriend,” he says, sending butterflies swarming my belly again. “That enough for you to quit fussing? I’m sure about this, Salem.”
“You’re not even a little worried about how they’re going to react? With Arlo, I mean?”
He rests his forehead on mine.
“You don’t really know my mother yet. She’ll be thrilled out of her gourd. I’ll probably need to tie her down to keep her from taking off. But that won’t even be today.”
I smile. “Even if she knows I kept him a secret?”
“Salem, Salem,” he growls. “Why, after everything, is your self-esteem trailing miles behind your success? Enough bullshit.”
“I just…” I don’t know how to articulate it, this annoying uncertainty weighing me down. “I’m your employee.”
“What do you want me to do? Fire you first?”
“Dude, it’s a conflict of interest.”
“We weren’t employees when we hooked up and made a kid. Plus, I’m pretty sure my brothers would rather keep you at The Cardinal than risk having you step back and let someone less competent take over.” He rubs his nose against mine. “Also, us not dating isn’t an option. Firing you is, in theory,” he murmurs.
“What about Arlo?”
“What about him? We do this one bite at a time. Introducing you as my girlfriend now will be a whole lot easier than digesting the whole truth at once. Trust me.”
The anxious knot in my belly tries to climb up and spout more silly questions, but I choke it back down.
This is Patton’s family. He knows them better than I do, no argument.
“Okay,” I say.
“Remember when you told me about Arlo? We’ll ease into it.”
“I know, I know. I trust you.”
And I do.
He kisses me one last time for good measure, then slides past me off the bed.
“Speaking of Arlo, we better see what he’s up to,” he says, glancing back at me with a hint of that wicked smile he saves just for me. “Damn, woman. From the way you’re acting, I might think you’ve never met a man’s folks before.”
Deep breath.
“I haven’t.”
He stops midway through finding a shirt from his huge walk-in closet.
“Ah.” The material slips through his fingers as he turns back to me. “Ever?”
“I never had a serious boyfriend before you came along. Then with a newborn it was impossible, and after he got older, I was focused on my career, so yeah.” I shrug, hating the crawling, itchy shame that comes with this confession. “This is it. My first time.”
“God, Salem. I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t think?” I quirk an eyebrow, daring him to smile. “My dating history isn’t very long. Or complicated.”
There’s another loud thud.
Arlo!
I swing into action, throwing on a robe over the t-shirt I wore to bed.
“I’d better go see what he’s up to,” I say ruefully. “Just in case he’s out of his room, destroying your house.”
“It’s a big place. He’d have a hard time ruining it.”
“Don’t say that to his face. He loves a challenge.”
Patton smiles, but it partly fades as he walks with me. “Hey, Salem? Thanks for trusting me.”
He could be a morning god, standing there in a shirt open at the collar, his hair still mussed from sleep. His eyes have that sleepy, sharp look he specializes in.
I don’t know how it happened, but I’ve placed all my trust in this man.
A smile curls my lips.
An answering smile lights in his eyes.
Thankfully, there’s no disaster waiting down the hall, just Arlo dumping his backpack out, trying to find his tablet.
We’re not expected at the Rory estate until dinner, so we spend the day together.
Patton takes us to the zoo and Arlo gets to scream with excitement at seeing all the animals from his nature books in the flesh and fur.
After we come back, Patton takes Arlo off to his study with the aquarium to talk about fish while I get ready.
Soon, I’m staring at my reflection in the mirror.
Mom used to call me pretty girl before I failed at life. When I was little, she’d brush my hair for half an hour sometimes. Now I know that’s because she wanted me to go to college, get an education I don’t need, and marry a man my parents low-key picked.
Yeah, that was never in the cards.
About the time I passed on college, she never complimented my looks again. Maybe that’s when I stopped believing I could be pretty, too.
When Patton calls me beautiful, it doesn’t quite compute. I search my face for signs he isn’t crazy.
Hazel eyes shot with gold.
Dark mocha-brown hair that ripples down my back when I let it.
A pointed Cupid’s bow on my upper lip.
A dark mole on my jaw, too low to be a beauty spot.
Eyebrows that need professional help to curve right.
Dimples that dip my cheeks even when I’m not smiling. They’ll sink when I get old, sucked into my skin with all the other wrinkles and lines of old age, and probably sooner than I think.