Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Ready?” she asks, reaching for the door handle.
“Yep, but let me get that for you, please.”
She smiles, her eyes warm as they lock with mine. “Your parents raised a gentleman. There aren’t many of those around anymore. You’re a unicorn, Pax.”
I grin at her compliment, though she has no idea it was my driver, Tyler, who taught me to always open doors for others, not my parents. I’m guessing my father has never held a door open for another person in his life.
When we walk inside the restaurant, Indie waves at us from a big corner table. She saved us seats, and Kylie hugs her before sitting down.
“Great game,” Indie says to me, holding out her fist for a bump.
“Hey, thanks. Pike wasn’t looking too shabby himself.”
“Hey, Pax,” Cassidy says, leaning forward to look at me from several seats down.
“Hey.”
Other teammates are arriving at the table, and it gets loud and busy for a few minutes, saving me from having to talk to Cassidy. Someone brings over a couple of trays full of shots, and we all throw them back in honor of our first game—and win—of the new season.
“So how long have you guys been seeing each other?” my teammate Jack asks me.
I look at Kylie, letting her answer so we don’t both blurt out different things.
“A little over a month,” she says, smiling at me. “Pike thought we’d be good together, and he was right.”
“So Pike set you up?” Jack asks, brows arched in surprise.
“Kind of,” I answer, unable to stop myself from infusing some truth into things. “But I’ve had a thing for her for a while, and I think Pike knew. I didn’t want to intrude…you know, when her husband was still…”
Kylie gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “He was a perfect gentleman. He waited until I was ready.”
“But didn’t your husband die just recently?” Cassidy asks loudly from her seat.
“Hey,” Pike says, narrowing his eyes at Cassidy. “Watch your mouth. That’s my sister.”
“Sorry,” Cassidy says breezily. “Didn’t mean to offend.”
Her very presence here is offensive. I shake my head, still reeling with disgust over the comment she made. Kylie leans forward and looks down the table at Cassidy.
“So Cassidy, is someone meeting you here? You know, like a date?”
Cassidy waves a hand. “No, I like to keep my options open.”
“Oh.” Kylie furrows her brow, sounding confused. “So you’ll just be here alone, then? For the whole evening?”
Pike meets my gaze, unable to hide his smirk. It looks like Kylie’s not the doormat Cassidy assumed she was.
“Does it matter?” Cassidy asks with an edge. “If I want to take any man in this place home with me, I can and I will.”
Kylie takes my hand, smiling sweetly. “I’m sure that’s true. Well, except for this one. He’s coming home with me tonight.”
Pike mouths the word “burn” at me and I squeeze Kylie’s hand. The two of us may have to watch what we say to Cassidy, but Kylie doesn’t, and she just established that she doesn’t plan to take any shit.
I wish I was going home with her, but I’ll drop her off at her place tonight with nothing more than my thanks for a well-played charade. I can’t wait for our next pretend date, because I’m already hooked on the way she’s been looking at me all night, like I’m her man. Tonight makes me wonder if I could have a real chance with her someday. A lot of what she said tonight was made up, but one thing was spot on.
I’ll wait until she’s ready. For as long as it takes.
Chapter Six
Kylie
“I think you dropped this,” I tell Lyndon, taking a Snickers bar from the pocket of my scrubs and passing it to him.
He takes it, a deep line of doubt forming between his brows. My supervisors don’t generally mind staffers giving treats to the residents, but Lyndon isn’t supposed to have Snickers bars due to his dental issues. I still sneak them to him, though, because life’s too short and they’re his favorite.
“Indeed I did,” he says, realization dawning. “Thank you, my dear.”
I put my hands up, feigning innocence. “All I did was pick it up.”
Lyndon smiles and sets the candy bar on a table in his room, then exhales heavily. “Guess you want to wheel me down for my torture session.”
“Physical therapy improves your range of motion. It’s not torture.”
He scoffs. “I’m too old for that shit. When my ticket’s up, it’s up.”
“Well, Captain Doomsday, it’s not actually about being dead or alive,” I say, helping him move from the recliner he’s sitting in to the wheelchair I pushed into the room. “It’s about quality of life.”
“Bullshit.” He settles into the wheelchair. “They’re going to give me a heart attack making me swim all those laps. Or break my fragile old bones when they twist my legs in every damned position they can think of.”