Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Once he’s off the property, I pull the iron door shut and crouch down by Reese’s knee. “You okay, baby?”
“I’m sorry for recommending him,” Astor cries in worry. “I didn’t realize he was like this.”
I don’t look away from Reese when I answer. “I understand. I’d be a little wild too if I thought Reese was leaving me.”
“This is so embarrassing.” Reese buries her hands in her face.
“When did this all happen?” Birdie asks in confusion.
“Blake carried her out of Gino’s last night, chair and all. She was on a date with Doc Simon,” Princess Maria supplies.
We all look at her with surprise. She shrugs. “Tyson Carter got it on video and uploaded it on his channel. Don’t worry. You can’t see your faces, but everyone thinks it’s interesting and wants an update.”
“You never told us this,” Birdie huffs.
“I was going to but got distracted by, um, stuff.” The princess blushes. I guess that means my cousin, Sterling, must’ve been behind her forgetfulness.
“Well, tell us more.” Birdie fixes a stare at Reese and me. I can see the poor girl shrink from the attention.
“We’ll tell you more when it’s the right time.” I pick Reese up and kick open the front door.
“Are you going to carry me everywhere?”
“Yeah, if I have to. Hope you’re recording this,” I shout over my shoulder to Maria.
“I am! Don’t worry,” she chirps.
Reese groans and buries her face in my chest. I release a long chuckle. I guess having a woman isn’t half bad. It’s entertaining if nothing else.
CHAPTER 12
REESE
T his is not how this was supposed to happen. Part of me wondered when I woke up this morning if the night before had all been a dream. Then I saw my phone which had a text on it from Blake wishing me a good morning, and I knew it wasn’t.
He got my number when he pulled my phone right out of my fingers and called his. That was after he drove me home. Where he walked me to my door and insisted he wasn’t leaving until he heard me lock the door. I was more than happy to lock it after I slammed it in his face. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the effect I was hoping it would. Blake only laughed and called me adorable before telling me to lock it.
I’d been utterly annoyed. A big chunk of that annoyance was with myself because I’d been miffed he hadn’t tried to kiss me again.
I knew when I made the short walk to work this morning that I had to tell Novak what went down as soon as I got there. There was no telling when Blake might show up. There was also no way I could hide it with the way Blake was acting. Plus, I wanted to be the one to tell Novak since technically it was one of his clients. I figured it would be better coming from me. I still think that would have been the case, but I hadn’t gotten the chance.
When I walked into the office this morning with our normal coffee and breakfast, Novak shoved his phone at me, showing me a video of what went down last night. You couldn’t make out my face, but if you knew me it wouldn’t be too hard to figure out. Based on the comments I scrolled through, people are now on the hunt for my name, wanting more of the story. It’s only a matter of time until someone fills in those blanks.
I was about to tell Novak that there was nothing going on between Blake and me, but before I could get the words out, he told me I could not date Blake. Again, I was sure he was going to say because he was a client of the business but nope. To my surprise, he said it was because I was his! I swear someone probably could have picked my jaw up off the ground with how shocked I was. What is wrong with the men in this town? They’ve all gone mad or something.
Worried something terrible was going to happen when Novak stormed out of the office to attend the meeting he already had scheduled with Blake early this afternoon, I followed him and jumped into his car, hoping to talk everyone down.
I’ve never seen Novak act this way. It’s so out of character for him. He’s normally so calm and a bit boring, if I’m being honest. He reminds me a lot of my stepfather. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s also not a good one either.
“You okay?” Blake asks, depositing me once again in the passenger seat of his truck.
“Not really,” I huff. He brushes a piece of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. I probably look a mess right now. Blake, as always, is as handsome as can be, even after getting into a fist fight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he’d go off that way. He said I would be fired if I dated you.”