Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
With narrowed eyes and a sneaky smile, he studied her. “Why would I go off and do my own thing? Are you trying to get rid of me, Sunshine?”
“Never.”
“So then why are you suggesting I go off on my own?”
“You don’t have to stick around,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “I’ll probably be a mess for a while.” She stuck another bite in her mouth, sucking on the spoon just to have something to do. Her emotions all sat just beneath the surface, and right now, for some stupid reason, she felt like crying.
His eyes softened. “Maybe I like mess.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides,” he said, straightening, “who else is going to help me fix my car? Max needs a lot of work.”
She laughed, pulling the spoon from her mouth. “I’m sure you could find someone.”
“And who else will drive around the country with me, seeing all of the cheesiest tourist destinations?”
She clicked her tongue, digging out another spoonful. “It might only be me, you’re right.”
Edward tossed the rest of his cone into the trash behind him and then turned back to her, reaching up to cup her face in his hands. “What do you want to do?”
“Have another scoop.”
“And then what?”
“Not be special anymore.”
“Unlikely, sorry.” He kissed her softly. “And then what?”
“Go to college,” she said, inhaling wistfully.
“Oh, we’re definitely getting you that college degree. What else?”
“Swim in the ocean,” she said, on a roll now. “Hike the Appalachian Trail. Go to London. See the Parthenon.”
“I assume you don’t mean the one in Nashville.”
She grinned. “Maybe that one first, then the other.”
“Amazing. What else?”
“Spend holidays with my father and his family. Buy food from a vending machine in Tokyo. Sleep in on Saturdays. Drink champagne on the top of the Eiffel Tower.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I just want to be free.”
“I’m inviting myself along on all of these trips, by the way.”
“That’s a given.” She smiled, but it faded. “I think I have to move somewhere totally new. Somewhere I can start over.”
He nodded, leaning in to kiss her again. “That makes sense,” he said against her lips. “What else?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted into another peck, and then he gave her a dozen tiny, soft kisses. “I think”—kiss—“for now”—kiss—“I really just want to eat ice cream”—kiss—“and wear giant sunglasses”—kiss—“and kiss your cold lips.”
Edward smiled and tilted his head, gently but decisively setting those cold, smiling lips against hers.
And—after college, law school, whirlwind travel, many holidays with family, very little revenge scheming, the purchase of some land, and what Edward found to be a truly excessive number of farm animals—they lived happily ever after.
The End