Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Give it a go.”
“Um. I thought Hunt for the Wilderpeople was great.”
“I haven’t seen that one,” says Gael. “We should get together and watch it sometime.”
Alistair shuts his eyelids tight for a moment. Like he’s searching for peace and patience deep inside and failing. The only problem with these shenanigans is how my heart keeps acting like it’s poised on the cusp of something. Every action of his spurs a reaction in me. It all fuels my foolish hope that Alistair has feelings for me too. Ones that maybe go beyond the occasional bout of lust. All I can do is self-medicate with champagne and tamales. This too shall pass.
“You free at all this weekend?” Gael asks me.
“No. She’s busy. And I told you to stop flirting with her,” says Alistair, cranky as can be. The thrill that goes through me at the sound of his growling brogue. Some of the noises he makes ought to be illegal. Or at least confined to the bedroom.
I keep my legs shut tight and my smile serene. This is fine. Everything is fine.
Gael laughs. “I mean all of us. We’ll all get together and watch it. Why are you being so uptight?”
Alistair is not convinced.
And with good cause. Because the next words to me out of Gael’s mouth are: “So, Lilah, what would you say you’re looking for in a relationship? Just out of interest?”
I don’t mean to choke on the champagne. It just happens.
Alistair rubs my back. Guess he also gives his friend another foul glance, because Gael says, “What did I do now? Lilah, babe, you okay?”
“Do not call her babe,” rumbles Alistair.
“Why? You got dibs on that endearment? Were you planning on calling her babe?”
Alistair frowns at me before saying, “That’s none of your business.”
“Shane,” I say, a little louder than intended. All the back-and-forth was cute for a while, but now I am done. Hoping I mean something to him is starting to hurt. A diversion is needed. “Would you mind showing me the game now?”
Shane gives his two friends a chastising look. “Sure thing.”
* * *
“What are you doing?” asks Alistair.
His friends have just left. Things calmed down after Shane and I modeled appropriate adult behavior. Not being fought over by a pair of dueling idiots improved my night tenfold. We played the game for hours. Or rather, I played it while three men shouted advice at me and gestured wildly at the screen. Then they started discussing different technical aspects of the game. Notes were taken on new ideas for updates and extensions. It was interesting seeing them work together as a team.
But back to the here and now. My cell is in my hands. “Ordering a car.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“It’s fine. Thanks.”
“Lilah,” he says, stepping closer, “look at me.”
“Hmm?”
His blue gaze takes me in, and he sighs. “You’re still upset about earlier. I’m sorry about Gael. He doesn’t mean any harm, but he gets carried away sometimes.”
“It’s fine,” I repeat. “Gael apologized for the shenanigans when he kissed me good-night.”
His brows descend. “He kissed you?”
“On the cheek. Shane did too. Your friends are nice. I like them.”
The frown remains in place. “If it’s about me telling them about you, I—”
“I have chosen to take you talking to your friends about me as a compliment. Though it does sort of feed into the larger issue.”
And the frown still remains. “Which is?”
“This here,” I say, pointing at the deep line embedded between his dark brows. “This is the problem, Ali.”
“What do you mean?”
“You just... I am so confused.”
“About what?”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Needing a moment to get my thoughts in order. Being brave isn’t necessarily my thing. But it’s not like I have time to waste these days. I push my shoulders back and thrust out my tits and say, “You know, for just a friend, you sure do get upset when someone flirts with me.”
It’s obvious the instant his walls go up. How the sharp lines of his face are suddenly set in stone. Not an iota of emotion can escape.
“You’re right—Gael was just playing,” I say. “But that doesn’t explain why you were reacting as strongly as you did.”
He scoffs and shakes his head and says nothing.
“And while we’re discussing it, the idea of me having sex with someone doesn’t exactly thrill you either, does it?”
“That’s me being concerned with your safety,” he says, the brogue thickening. “We talked about this. I made my position perfectly clear.”
“Changing the topic of conversation doesn’t make your position clear. Kind of the opposite.”
“You’re deliberately being obtuse,” he says, talking to some fixed point past my shoulder. “You and I are friends, Lilah. That’s all.”
“So, what, I’m imagining all of this?”
He jerks his chin, which is answer enough. Ouch.
“Okay.” Sometimes you’ve got to let go of things for your own sanity. Such as this conversation. “Thank you for the motorbike ride. I really enjoyed it. I’ll order a car and wait outside.”