Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
"Don't sweat it."
"I feel like if you were at my school, instead of, like, a famous football player, we would probably be friends," Maddy said.
"We’re friends already," I said. "I also want you to feel free to text me if you're ever in a sticky situation and you need help. I think you should feel just as comfortable texting your dad, to be honest, but I know how it can be with parents."
She nodded. "Exactly. Sometimes I'm just so damn embarrassed. Like, I do bad stuff or get wild sometimes, but it feels like Dad's never done a wild thing in his life."
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, thinking about the long list of wild, unexpected things that I'd been doing in secret with her dad. But I sure as shit wasn't going to talk to her about that.
“He’s cooler than you think,” I told her. “Promise.”
She snorted. “Well, he certainly thinks you’re cool, too.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, curiosity piquing my interest.
“He’s, like, fucking obsessed with you,” Maddy said idly. “He likes you so much. He tries to downplay it, but I feel like you’re the only thing on his mind lately.”
I bit back a smile. Maddy didn’t know the implications of what it meant to me, but I got a deep satisfaction from knowing that Nathan thought about me a lot in his free time. I liked being on his mind.
Liked it a little too much, probably. Toying around with those kinds of thoughts about straight men was usually dangerous territory, but that was also what made it even more tempting in my mind.
A few minutes later, Nathan and the rest of the crew appeared in the backyard, emerging from the path. I watched from the window.
Christ, he looked good. All of them did, after a long day of work, slightly disheveled and sweaty and carrying toolboxes and machines. But Nathan especially appeared transformed after a day of doing demolition work. He was in my loaner clothes, not his usual work pants and shirt, but he still looked like the exact fantasy of a hot contractor.
The fantasy I’d had in my head for years and years. The exact kind of thing I had been getting off to when Nathan had stumbled across me that first night.
I opened the doors to the backyard. “Done for the day, boys?” I asked them.
“Would have been done twenty minutes ago if Shawn hadn’t lost his Wonder Bar,” Nathan said, giving me a serene smile. His eyes had a calm sparkle to them, and it was clearer than ever that he’d needed a day of good work.
“I want to ask what a Wonder Bar is,” I said, “but I also just want to start calling my dick that, without knowing what it really is.”
They laughed. Shawn reached for a wavy metal bar, holding it up to show me. “It’s just a pry bar. Helps a lot with drywall. Tomorrow you can come watch when we do the rest, if you want.”
“Got another organized group training event starting tomorrow, otherwise I’d be right there with you guys,” I said.
“Is that where they make you guys play football in the off-season?” Charlie asked.
“Play a little football, run drills, work out, and make sure we’re not getting soft during the summer,” I said with a nod. “This one is just two days long, but it’ll still be exhausting.”
Charlie and Shawn went around the side gate to bring their tools back to the van out front, and Nathan hung back to talk to me.
He nodded toward the house. “She okay?” he asked, seeing Maddy through the windows, her eyes glued to her phone.
“She’s doing great. And she is great, as a person. Your daughter’s amazing, Nathan.”
He pulled in a slow breath. “I try my best. And she does, too, I think. Her mother’s going to chew me out about this situation, but I’ll handle it.”
My mind floated back to what Maddy had been telling me about her parents. Nathan didn’t deserve to be blamed for anything that was going on, and yet I could already anticipate that his ex might try to do just that.
“Nathan’s car still out getting cleaned?” Charlie asked as he came back into the yard.
Nathan and I locked eyes.
Shit. I’d completely forgotten about this morning. “Um, yeah, it’ll probably be done and back here in a bit.”
I saw the same frenzied look in Nathan’s eyes. “You guys head out without me,” Nathan told his brother and Charlie. “Fuck, Ranna is going to kill me if I have Maddy home even fifteen minutes late—”
“We can drop her off at Ranna’s,” Shawn offered right away. “It’s on the way home for me, anyway, and it’ll save you the…”
“The blowup,” Nathan said, grimacing. “Are you sure, Shawn?”
“What are uncles for, if not giving their nieces rides home?”