Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“He was. And that was my pizza.”
“I can drive you over to his place.”
“Oh no. You don’t have to do that.”
Peter smiled sweetly. “It’s not a problem at all. I want to.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I agreed, simply because I didn’t know the way back to Theo’s house on my own, and I needed to give him a piece of my mind for leaving me stranded.
Peter walked me over to his car and hopped into the driver’s seat, and I walked around and climbed into the passenger’s seat. He put the car into drive after we buckled up and took off down the road. “I’m going to be honest. Theo’s odd. I’m surprised my grandparents let him run the restaurant and the booth at the farmers’ market because he’s so socially awkward. They spoil the shit out of him more than they ever spoiled me. And I was their first grandson.”
“Why do you think that is? That they spoil him more?”
“Well, he was raised by them. So it’s almost like he’s their actual child. Not to be emotional about it, but I was always jealous of how they treated him compared to me.”
“I’m sorry that happened. That had to be hard. What’s the deal with Theo’s parents?”
Peter frowned. “It’s pretty sad, actually. My aunt Christina was taken advantage of and ended up pregnant. The whole thing messed her up pretty badly. When Theo was around twelve, she abandoned him, saying she never wanted a kid anyway and wished she’d had an abortion.”
My hand fell to my chest. “Oh my goodness. That’s heartbreaking.”
“It is. And it’s clear that it made him a bit of a weirdo. That’s not even me being mean. I wish life were easier for him. I’ve tried to connect with him over the years, but he’s so distant. I guess that’s the thing about people. We’re all different. Some people like their space. Others don’t.” He smiled at me. “I get the idea you’re a people person.”
“Yes.” I laughed. “My eldest sister would say I like people a little too much. I don’t like being alone.”
“I think you and I have a lot in common. Because I don’t like it, either. How many siblings do you have?”
“Two older sisters, Avery and Yara.”
“Ah, you’re the baby.”
“I live up to it, too. I’m a handful.”
Peter arched an eyebrow and held a hand in the air. “I have big hands for handfuls.”
I chuckled and shrugged. “Most people can’t handle all of me.”
“Trust me, Willow. I could handle you,” he mentioned as he pulled into Theo’s driveway. He put the car in park and kept his eyes on me. “So next Friday, I’ll pick you up for the party.”
“Sounds great. Thanks for the ride, Peter.”
“Of course. I’d never leave you stranded.”
I climbed out of his car and headed toward the house in search of Theo. After such a great day, I needed to understand why he was so quick to storm off without any true reasoning. But my timing must’ve been a second too late because as I stepped onto the back porch, I saw him and his boat taking off on the lake with the pizza.
“You could’ve left me a few slices!” I hollered, tossing my hands up in frustration.
Freaking Bradley Cooper wannabe asshole.
CHAPTER 11
Theo
Willow was sleeping when I returned from the lake after I stormed off from our interaction with Peter. I felt like a dick for abandoning her, but at that moment, my mind was in a tailspin, and I couldn’t think straight. What was worse was the fact that I could see the smugness in Peter’s eyes that he was enjoying my struggles.
The following morning, I woke up early and moved around the house, feeling like a jerk for abandoning Willow. Our day wasn’t bad. We’d actually had a decent time shopping for decorations. Willow talked a lot, but that was something I realized she just did. Miss Chatty Cathy over there. It would’ve been odd if she hadn’t spoken the whole drive to Green Bay and back.
“What the heck, Theo?!” I heard behind me as I finished clearing off the living room coffee table. I turned to see Willow standing there with a stern look, her hands on her hips.
I blinked at her a few times. “Morning.”
“Don’t you ‘morning’ me. You left me last night!”
“It looked like you and Peter were being buddy-buddy. Didn’t want to get in the way.”
She looked at me as if I were out of my mind, and I couldn’t blame her. My dramatic storm-off had been eating at me since it happened. I wanted to apologize. I needed to apologize. On the boat last night, I thought about a million ways I could’ve told Willow I was sorry. I beat myself up pretty bad about the whole thing, and on top of that, I didn’t catch any fish. Even the lake seemed annoyed with my bad attitude.