Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“No way that’s happening. This is just coffee.”
“But what if Harrison found a sale on condoms?” Her eyes widen and she points at me. “No, no, I’ve got it. He goes to Planned Parenthood so he can snag the free ones.”
“Eat shit and die, Tess. This dating thing is killing me, and you’re like a stand-up comedian testing out jokes.”
She hugs me. “I love you. I know it’s hard, but try to relax. You don’t think you can trust your intuition, but you can.”
“Just because the year of not dating is up, that doesn’t mean I have to date, you know?”
“Right. Only do it if you want to.”
“I’ll see how tonight goes.”
“Good luck.”
I hug her again and leave through the kitchen door that’s attached to my garage. It snowed yesterday and I was too exhausted from being up with Tate to shovel the driveway, so I hit the gas extra hard to back out of my garage.
Snow crunches beneath the tires of my car as I do a mental run-through of what I need to get done at work this afternoon. If I stay focused, I can get through it all before meeting up with Harrison at 5:30 p.m.
By the time I get to the office, lunch hour is over for most everyone and the normal hum of office activity has resumed. I nod at people as I walk by but don’t stop for any conversations, closing my office door behind me.
On my tightened schedule, I don’t have time to think about Rowan. I fell asleep thinking about our text conversation last night and had a dream that he was taking a shower in my bathroom.
I’ll have to pick up on those thoughts later, though. This afternoon, I’m all business.
“Hi, Cam.” Harrison stands up to greet me when I approach his table at the coffee shop.
He’s still wearing the dark suit he probably wore to work today, his face clean-shaven and his smile wide. Harrison is handsome. Most women would get butterflies sitting down across from him.
But what I notice most is his eyes. They didn’t change when he saw me. Every single time since Rowan and I met, when he sees me, his eyes brighten with...happiness? I think it’s happiness. I never really thought about it until realizing that Harrison’s eyes don’t change at all when he sees me.
“Hi, how are you?”
I hang my bag and coat over the back of the chair, scolding myself. Bright eyes don’t mean a lifetime of happiness. They don’t mean stability for me and my boys.
“Can’t complain.” He looks sheepish. “Sorry I couldn’t work this in during the day, it’s a crazy busy week at the office.”
“It’s no problem.”
I sit down and grab a drink menu. “Definitely decaf for me at this hour.”
“Same.” He chuckles lightly. “I’d have to run a few laps around my house later tonight and I still wouldn’t be able to sleep if I had caffeine right now.”
I set my menu down and meet his gaze across the table. “Thanks for the rose. That was really sweet of you.”
He smiles, leaning back in his chair. “I like you, Cam. You’re beautiful and you have this...energy that I like being around. I know you’re younger than me, still in your child-raising days. Those days are over for me, but I definitely have room in my life for a girlfriend.”
I look down at the table, my inner voice sounding an alarm. If Harrison wasn’t an important client of the firm, I’d get up and leave. Any man who is done raising children is not the man for me. I have two energetic boys and I love them more than anything in the world.
“Well,” I start, planning to diplomatically tell him I’m not right for him. “I--”
“Harrison!” a barista calls out from the counter.
“Excuse me,” Harrison says, getting up from his seat.
He ordered before I got here. Is this what dating has come to these days? I take out my phone, hoping to see a text from Tess telling me I need to come home immediately.
Maybe Tate’s feeling bad again. Maybe she had plans tonight she forgot about. Hell, I’ll come over and take out her trash if she needs me to. Anything to escape this asshole who just dismissed my kids before even having the privilege of meeting them.
There’s nothing from Tess, but I do have a voicemail from the Denver County State’s Attorney’s Office. I furrow my brow, wondering why they’d be calling me. My phone says the call came into my phone at 2:34 p.m. today, but the voicemail just came through.
I listen to it, not caring if Harrison finds it rude.
“Hi Cam, it’s Nate from Amara Morris’s office. I wanted to let you know that Jacob Dunley is being released from prison early. There’s an overcrowding situation and since he’s had good behavior, he qualified to get out early. Looks like he’s getting out on...let’s see...this Friday. I know this is upsetting. We argued against it but were unsuccessful. Please call me back if you have any questions on this or if we can connect you with any resources. Thanks.”