Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Even though Nathan ever-so-nicely offered me to be roommates with him.
“I’ll watch over your place until I can find my own,” I said. “Better than my other option.”
“What was the other option?” Yara asked.
“Nathan offered me to be his roommate,” I nonchalantly stated.
“What?!” they remarked.
Willow sat back down beside me, her eyes widening with the giddiest grin on her face. “Oh gosh, I can’t believe we haven’t dove deeper into the Nathan aspect of this whole situation. This is a big deal.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I disagreed.
“You running off with your former secret lover after your wedding was called off? Uh, yeah, that’s a big deal,” she said.
Yara nodded. “Sorry, Ave. I gotta agree with Willow. This is wild.”
“Did you two sleep together?” Willow asked.
“What? Oh my gosh, no.” I lightly shoved her arm. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I think sex is a beautiful way to release some stress hormones. It’s a beautiful, natural act that two people take part in, and—”
“And it didn’t happen. I would never, ever sleep with that man,” I sternly said as I crossed my arms. “There’s no way in hell that would happen. I don’t like the guy. I hardly tolerate him.”
“You have to admit, though, it was nice of him to help you when you needed someone. I always liked Nathan,” Yara said. “And it’s even nicer for him to try to help you out with a living arrangement. Though, could you imagine the town’s gossip if you moved in with another man after you called off your wedding?”
I grumbled. “I could, and I hate the thought. I bet they’re already having a field day talking about me.”
“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Yara replied in a singsong tone which told me it was that bad.
“Everyone’s talking about it, huh?” I muttered.
“Literally everyone. Even Mrs. Carpenter, and she hasn’t spoken since 1995,” Willow said.
“Splendid,” I murmured, pressing the palms of my hands to the back of my neck. “Nothing better than a gossiping town gossiping about me.”
“Don’t worry. Alex and I had people gossiping about us, too, when we first got together. Now, they’re in love with us. Well, in love with me. I think they just put up with Alex and his grimaces,” Yara said.
“I can guarantee you that Alex doesn’t care that these townsfolk don’t like him,” I replied.
“Maybe that’s the mindset you need to take on with them, too. Be like Alex. Tell everyone to piss off,” Willow expressed with a smile. “He’d probably kick their butts for looking at him wrong, too.”
“Pray for my daughter’s first boyfriend,” Yara quipped. “But really, Avery. Screw the townspeople. They are small-town people with small minds. If you want to live with Nathan Pierce, by all means—”
“I’m not living with Nathan Pierce!” I shouted. Even though, maybe just a little, maybe just for a small moment in time, I secretly considered the idea. I rolled my shoulders back and turned to Willow. “Do you have anything stronger than tea?”
Later that night, I lay in bed beside a slumbering Willow, unable to sleep. My mind was spinning too quickly that evening. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one struggling to rest that night. My phone dinged with a message from none other than Nathan.
Nathan
I should’ve asked you this before you left, but what do you want me to do with the wedding dress?
Avery
Burn it.
18
AVERY
“How goes it, roommate?” Nathan asked Tuesday afternoon before practice. He walked into my office and leaned against the doorframe with a smirk as he chewed gum. “That is, if you’re still considering being my roommate.”
“I have thought about it, but I realize it would cause too much drama in a town with gossiping people. Plus, seeing as how we hate each other, it probably wouldn’t be the best situation.”
“Who is this we that you speak of?” he said with a smile that was so sweet I almost considered not being in a bad mood. “I couldn’t hate you even if I tried, Avery Kingsley. And who cares what the townspeople have to say? They are already gossiping. Do you know that they gossiped about the size of the sausage at my brothers’ butcher shop compared to the grocery store? They spent the past two weeks comparing sausage lengths, trying to prove that ours were overpriced. I’m proud to say we won. Us Pierce boys have the biggest and thickest sausages on the marketplace.”
I stared blankly at him. “I’m not going to entertain that comment at all.”
“I’m serious, though. The town’s going to talk regardless. Might as well give them something to talk about.”
He took a seat on the chair across from my desk and tossed his feet up.
I shoved his feet off my desk. “Willow is going out of town for a little while, so she’s letting me stay at Big Bird until she returns.”