Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
When Declan wasn’t around, I’d begun scribbling random ideas for screenplays and playing around with popular tropes. Nothing had sunk its claws in yet, but I was doing more than I had in a long time. I was letting myself toy with the idea that I might try my hand at this. Who knew if it would go anywhere. It likely wouldn’t, but it was fun to think about.
Today, though, I was bored. I didn’t feel like sitting around the house, and Declan was busy. I still felt slightly off-balance since Neil’s visit nearly a week before. Declan had listened to me complain about it ever since. He was good at listening, maybe because he didn’t like talking about himself as much. Then he usually told me how big of a dick Neil was before shutting me up with his mouth. I couldn’t complain. It was a great distraction.
After pacing around the house for a while, I put my laptop and a notebook in my bag and headed out. I was old school in that I liked to do plotting and brainstorming with pen and paper, and…maybe I could do that at Beach Buns? Declan had mentioned that people often went with their laptops and spent the day at Parker’s bakery. I could do that, right? It wasn’t weird for me to show up at Declan’s friend’s place of employment. I liked carbs and coffee. Why wouldn’t I want to try carbs and coffee at my… Jesus, what was Declan to me? I didn’t know what he considered us. Boyfriends? Friends who fuck and cuddle? Why was dating so damn hard? But back to the point, why couldn’t I have carbs and coffee at Declan’s best friend’s place? So that’s what I was going to do.
I kept a hat in my car, which I put low on my head. It wasn’t as if people in Santa Monica weren’t used to seeing celebrities out and about. Most people likely wouldn’t give a shit if they saw me, but some would, and the longer I kept a low profile the better.
Even with traffic, it didn’t take me long to get to Beach Buns. It was a cute little white-and-baby-blue building. There was a patio with tables and umbrellas, and people were walking up and down the sidewalk.
I kept my head down but trying not to make it too obvious as I headed into the building.
“Welcome to—oh, hey,” Parker said with a bright smile. It made me feel slightly giddy, which I knew was ridiculous.
“Hi.” We met toward the end of the counter, me trying to blend in with the wall.
“It’s so cool that you’re here. Where’s Dec?”
“I’m not sure. He said he had a few things to do.”
Parker rolled his eyes. “Ugh. He’s probably running errands for his dad.” He said it nonchalantly, but his words were an unexpected shock to my system. I knew his mom had passed, and for some reason, I’d assumed his father was gone too—or at least that they weren’t close. But…Declan was helping him out? That felt like something I should know.
“I didn’t realize he was still around.”
Parker’s eyes turned into saucers, and I knew he regretted giving me a piece of Declan that Dec hadn’t offered me himself.
“I didn’t know he hadn’t told you…” Parker looked around. “What do you want? I’ll grab it, and then if you don’t mind, I’ll sit with you for a minute.”
“Sure, that’d be great.” I ordered an iced coffee and a homemade oatmeal cream pie. Parker told his other employees he would be back, and then we went to a table outside, in the corner of the patio.
“Don’t take offense that Declan didn’t tell you that himself. He’s funny about things—keeps nearly everything close to his chest. I mean, he does tell you more than he does anyone except us. He’s never brought a man to dinner with any of us, I can tell you that. And he sure never spends as much time with anyone as he does with you.”
My whole body filled with so much joy hearing that, I almost floated away.
“Wow,” Parker said. “That’s a knockout smile. You like him a lot, don’t you?”
“I do,” I admitted. “More than I’ve ever liked anyone. Everything feels so new. And I get how that sounds crazy, considering I’m thirty-two. I’m sure that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
“That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be—at least when it’s real.” Parker was considered the romantic of the bunch. He was always talking about romance in the podcast and about wanting to find that special person. “You’re lucky, and I’m glad it’s Dec. He deserves to feel loved by someone. There’s no one more loyal than him, but there’s also no one who feels more alone than him either, even if he doesn’t always show it.”