Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” he says, his tone lighter. “I want this for you, man. I do. I know we teased our brothers about this, but fuck me, Merrick, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever known.”
“I’ll find her,” I tell him.
“She might be right in front of you and you don’t even know it.”
I chuckle. “You mean like Stella was right in front of you?”
“Exactly. I’m so fucking glad I opened my eyes. It makes my chest ache to think I could have missed out on life with her and Ada, and now the twins—my heart is so fucking full it could bust wide open.”
“Embrace it, brother.”
“I am. So... dinner with the family tonight?”
“Yeah, Court’s mom has been on her about all of us having dinner, so we’re meeting them at that new steakhouse in Harris. Her sister and her fiancé will be there as well.”
“She’s nice. We like her.”
I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Yeah, she’s nice, and I like her too. She’s easy to be around, which is a plus, since we’re faking this whole relationship thing.”
“Right. Faking.” The words come out with a fake cough, and I roll my eyes.
“I need to get going. Call me if you need me, and go nap with your family.”
“Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime, Mav. Love you, man.”
“Love you too.”
Locking up the house, I climb into my truck and head to pick up Courtney, all while ignoring the fact that I’m excited to see her.
We’re a few minutes away from the restaurant where we’re meeting her family and the closer we get, the faster her leg bounces. Reaching over, I place my hand on her thigh, and she instantly stills.
“It’s all going to be fine, Court.”
“We don’t have a story.” She huffs out a breath.
“Okay, then give us a story.”
She turns to look at me. I glance over, feeling her gaze, and offer her what I hope is a comforting smile. The clock on the dash tells me we’re twenty minutes early. Decision made, I signal and pull into the grocery store parking lot.
“What are we doing?”
I put the truck in Park, take off my seat belt, and turn to face her. “We’ve got about twenty minutes before we have to be there, so we have a few extra minutes. Our story is that you work for my sister-in-law. I’ve seen you when I visit, and one thing led to another, and I finally asked you out. We kept it to ourselves because you work for my family until we knew that this was more than just a few casual dates.”
Slowly, she nods. “Okay.”
Reaching over, I rest my hand against her cheek. “We can do this. I’ll follow your lead. If I see you struggling, I’ll jump in. That’s what good boyfriends do, right?” I tease, and it works because a beautiful smile crosses her face.
“This is why I’ve been single so long.” She huffs out a laugh. “I’m a lot. Thank you, Merrick.”
“Don’t.” My voice is stern. I’ve lost the sweet softness I was just using with her. “Not around me. No, in fact, not ever. You’re not a lot. You’re allowed to feel however you feel. Scared, nervous, guilty.” I raise my brows and she nods. “You’re allowed to feel anything and everything, and don’t you dare apologize for it.”
Her reply is to turn toward my palm and kiss it. Shock races through my system at the feel of her lips against my skin.
“Feeling better?” I ask, pretending as if my hand isn’t tingling where her lips just were.
“Much. Thank you, Merrick.”
“You and me.” She nods, and only then do I drop my hand. I miss the contact of my skin against her immediately. My hand is cold, and I rub it against my thigh on my jeans to alleviate the loss I feel. I need to shake out of this.
Putting the truck in Drive, I place my hand back on her thigh, because there’s an intense feeling inside me telling me I need to touch her to keep her calm. I refuse to think of any other reason I’d feel the need to constantly be touching her.
Two minutes later, we’re pulling into the restaurant. I kill the engine, grabbing my keys and phone. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” She nods as she speaks, as if she needs the physical reply as much as she needs the words to pump herself up.
I make my way to the passenger door and pull it open for her. “Are they here yet?” I ask.
“I didn’t see their cars.”
“Well, just in case, we need to be on.”
“What does that mean?” she asks with a soft huff of laughter.
“It means that while we’re here, where they’re going to be, we’re real.”
“What?” she gasps.
“That’s how you need to think of it. Pretend this isn’t pretend.” I wink, and this time her laughter is loud and boisterous.