Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Finally, he smiles while wrapping his hand around the back of my neck. “Are you hungry?”
I give a tiny shake of my head. “I ate something at the hospital.”
“Well, let’s get you to bed. I know you’re exhausted, and so am I after all of this shit with Marek today.”
“Actually,” I say as I push all the way off his body and come to stand by the couch. “I’m a little wired from my shift and need to unwind. I’ll just work on a puzzle for a bit until I get tired.”
Reed rolls off the couch, straightens, and then pulls me into his arms. This feels good, yet I still feel unsettled. I feel marginally better when he frames my face with his hands and presses his lips to my forehead. He looks down at me and smiles. “All right. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Promise,” I say, and then he kisses me on my mouth. Soft and brief, and it invites nothing further from me.
Reed turns toward my stairs and I move to my kitchen table. I’m just pulling out the chair to work on an awesome puzzle of the Manhattan skyline when Reed says, “You know what?”
I look over my shoulder at him. “What?”
“If you’re going to stay up awhile, I think I’m just going to head over to my place. You’ve got to be up early tomorrow, and if you don’t mind, I’m going to be a bit lazy tomorrow and sleep in.”
Sounds legitimate on its face. In fact, just before I’d walked in the door tonight I wouldn’t have thought twice about him wanting to stay at his place so he could sleep in and I wouldn’t wake him up.
But something is off.
I know it.
By the look on Reed’s face right now, I know he knows I know it.
Clearing my throat, I put on a forced smile that I hope is deceptive enough and say, “Yeah…sure. I totally get it. You don’t have much of your summer left and you should take what opportunities you can to get some sleep.”
“Okay,” he says with obvious relief. “Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow after you get off work. Maybe we can just stay in and chill out.”
“Pizza and beer it is,” I say with a brightness I don’t feel.
“Awesome,” Reed says and then shoots me a wink. “See you tomorrow.”
It’s a good five minutes after he leaves that I realize I’m still staring at the door, and I really have no clue what just happened.
Chapter 25
Reed
Yawning, I scratch my stomach as I head down the stairs toward Josie’s kitchen. It’s almost noon, but I just woke up and I need coffee pronto. When I get halfway down, I stop at the murmur of voices and I remember that Josie and Aiden were going to be working on their project here today. In this past week since I’ve been back from New York, Josie has had to pull some double shifts at the hospital and she and Aiden are trying to make up some time on their project.
I almost start backpedaling to the bedroom where I intend to hide out, but I also remember Josie told me they would be here all day. She and I have plans for dinner tonight, but for the day she’s in work mode and I’m on my own.
This rankles me. Not because I’m losing out on time with Josie, or that she’s spending it with her former boyfriend, but because it’s another example of how little I have in common with her. She’s working on an important medical comparison study on her day off. I’m waking up at noon on a Thursday and my biggest decision is what to eat for breakfast today.
Or rather, lunch.
My ears tune into their conversation filtering in from the kitchen. I can imagine them huddled at the table. Josie will be in front of the laptop typing with Aiden beside her, reading snippets from medical reports. Josie will pause, and then turn slightly to him to make a conclusion. He’ll argue with her. They’ll discuss it like reasoned adults. She’ll go back to typing.
I know all this because I’ve seen it before. Josie and Aiden work here sometimes. Other times they work at his house. None of that bothers me, and I don’t hang around too long when he’s here. One thing I learned for sure that day golfing with Aiden is that he doesn’t have Josie in his sights. He might have when he first returned, but I believed the dude when he told me he cares for her and wants her to be happy.
The only slight problem I see is if Josie will be truly happy with me for the long run. Can I provide for all her needs, which are complex and layered, because Josie is so complex and layered? Or is this perhaps only a fling that got her back on her feet after Aiden broke her heart?