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)
His hand appears in my line of vision, and with his index finger beneath my chin, he lifts my head so that I’m looking at him. “I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m unattached. This isn’t a big deal. We’ll hang out a few times, go to the wedding together, and all is good.”
“Yes!” Jordyn says, clapping her hands in excitement, breaking through the Merrick Kincaid haze I seem to have found myself in. He drops his hand and how is it that I miss his touch?
“It’s a win-win. No harm, no foul.” Merrick shrugs.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” I say, finding my voice.
“You didn’t ask me to. I volunteered. It’s not a big deal, Courtney. Just tell me the date of the wedding. We’ll exchange numbers and hang out a few times. It’s all going to be fine.”
Hope and gratitude well in my chest. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you, Merrick,” Jordyn teases.
I nod. “Thank you, Merrick. Truly. You’re saving me, and you don’t have to.”
He waves me off. “It’s all good. Now, about that date.”
I rattle off my sister’s wedding date, and we exchange numbers just as a customer walks in. I stand to my full height, plaster a smile on my face that feels less forced than a few seconds ago, and the heavy weight sitting on my chest eases.
It’s all going to be okay.
Merrick Kincaid just saved my ass.
CHAPTER
TWO
Merrick
Courtney greets the customer while I step away from the counter, sliding my phone back into my pocket. “Where do you want the table?” I ask Jordyn. I pretend her cheesy smile is because she’s happy about the table, not about my offer to help Courtney.
“That was really nice of you, Mer.” She bats her eyelashes, and I can only imagine what that look does to my brother Ryder when she turns it on him.
I shrug. “I’m a nice guy. It’s not my fault you and the rest of my sisters-in-law married the asshole brothers of the family.” I wink, and she tosses her head back in laughter.
“You and I both know that’s not true.”
“It’s not, but it got you to think about something other than me agreeing to help Courtney out of a jam.”
“I was just telling you how nice of you it was. She’s been stressing over this wedding, and her mom has been putting a ton of pressure on her. You’re doing her a huge favor.”
“Table?” I ask her again. I know that if I don’t shut this down, she’s going to read more into it than me just being nice. Who am I kidding? She’s going to make a big deal about it, regardless. My family thinks, since I’m the last single brother, that it’s time for me to wife up like the rest of my brothers. I’m not against marriage, and I’m certain one day I’ll find the one I never want to let go of, but it will happen when it’s supposed to. You can’t force this kind of thing. If I’ve learned anything by watching my brothers fall in love, it’s that love has its own timeline.
She smirks. “In the corner to the right as soon as you enter the front door.”
I shake my head, knowing that within the hour, my sisters-in-law and my brothers are going to hear about my small act of kindness. They’re going to make a way bigger deal out of this than what it is. I could see Courtney was stressed, and I’m not attached. It’s easy enough to hang out a few times to sell the relationship, go to the wedding, and then split ways, and her mother will be none the wiser. I don’t see what the big deal is. However, I know my family, and they’ll see it as me wanting her.
Sure, Courtney is gorgeous. She was a couple of years below me in school, but I remember her. How could I not with her long black hair and those hypnotizing dark brown eyes? She’s a looker. It’s definitely not going to be a hardship to hang out with her and spin her around the dance floor at her sister's wedding.
Pushing out the shop door, I unload the small table from the back of my truck and carry it back inside. Jordyn is at the door, holding it open for me. She’s still wearing that knowing smile, and I’m starting to regret my quick decision to help Courtney out of her jam.
“Over there.” Jordyn points to where she wants the table, and I place it per her instructions. “Thank you, Merrick.”
“You’re welcome. You need anything else moved while I’m here?”
“I don’t think so. I appreciate the offer.” As soon as the words are out of her mouth, a small cry comes through the baby monitor in her hands, and I grin.