Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I shrug, rethinking the walk. I’d rather not arrive at Ike’s all sweaty and out of breath.
That’s not sexy.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll take the ride, Liam. Thanks again, Abby.”
“No, thank you. I’ll send you a link when it’s live. Now, I’m gonna go see what else Lucy’s been baking.”
I follow Liam out to his car and lower myself into the passenger seat.
“Here’s the address.” I show him the screen of my phone. “It’s not that far.”
“Just a few blocks down and around the corner,” he confirms and starts his car. “How long have you known this guy?”
“About a day and a half.”
His head whips around, and he pins me with a surprised look. “What? And you’re going to his house?”
“Uncle Will knows him, father.”
“I’m not acting like Dad.”
“Totally are. I should just call you Isaac.”
“You’re my only sister, and I’m looking out for you.”
“And I appreciate it. I love you, too.”
He pulls up into the gated driveway, and when we approach, the gate opens without us having to speak into the speaker thing.
“He’s loaded,” Liam says. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not a fucking creep.”
I sigh and roll my eyes as he pulls up in front of the door, where Ike is already standing in the doorway.
“Is that Ike Harrison?”
“Yep.” I offer him a fist bump, and then I step out of the car and smile at Ike. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” He watches with sober eyes as my brother heads down the driveway and disappears from sight. “Am I poaching on someone else’s territory?”
“Huh?” I glance back at the empty drive and then back at Ike. “Oh, God. Ew.”
A shudder runs through my body, and I shake my head.
“No, that’s my brother. I was at his house this afternoon, and he dropped me off.”
Ike physically relaxes and smiles at me. “Ah. Gotcha.”
“Besides, if I had a boyfriend, I don’t think he’d willingly drop me off at another man’s house so I could go out to dinner with him.”
“Hey, you never know. There are some odd people out there.”
He gestures for me to follow him inside.
“Are we staying in for dinner?” I ask and take in his house as Ike shakes his head no. His home isn’t enormous. In fact, it’s just a normal-sized house, but it has a beautiful view of the water. “I like this a lot.”
“Thanks.” He grins and follows me to the windows. “I do, too. I knew I wanted a water view, and when this came up for sale, I snatched it. I had to install the gate, though.”
“Smart idea. People got Will’s address over the years, and having a gate kept out almost all of the crazies.”
“Almost?” I glance up and see that he’s raised an eyebrow at that. “Not all?”
“Most people are just curious, you know? They want a glimpse of where he lives, so they get as far as the gate and then turn around and leave. But once, a woman was really determined, and she got in somehow. I can’t remember how because I was a teenager when it happened.”
“I guess once out of all of these years isn’t too bad of a record.” He reaches up, as if he’s done it a hundred times before, and tucks my dark hair behind my ear. “You look gorgeous, Sophie.”
“Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself.”
That’s the understatement of the millennia. He’s just in jeans and a green long-sleeved Henley and Jordans. Completely casual.
But he’s also just delicious.
I can’t help but notice again just how freaking tall he is. And he’s not lanky. Not at all. He’s muscular, with broad shoulders, and the sleeves of the Henley are pulled up on his forearms, showing off the muscles and veins there, which cause every nerve ending in my body to sit up and begin to salivate.
“I hope you’re hungry.”
Hell yes, I’m hungry, and not necessarily for food. But that would sound entirely too forward.
So, I just smile. “Definitely. Where are we going?”
“Do you like seafood?”
“I do. I grew up in Seattle, where fresh seafood is a religion. How about you?”
“Well, I grew up in the middle of the country, where fresh seafood was a myth, but I’ve grown to love it since I’ve lived here. There’s a place on the water called Salty’s.”
“I know it well. Great menu.”
“Cool. Let’s do it, then.”
“I don’t get a tour of your house?”
He grins as he grabs his keys and wallet off the kitchen counter. “I’m hoping that happens later.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
He simply shrugs. “Then it doesn’t. No harm.”
Yeah, I like him.
“Okay, let’s go eat our weight in crab legs.”
He grins and gestures for me to follow him into the attached garage where I find a sweet, brand-new black Toyota truck.
“Nice,” I say with a grin as I buckle my seat belt.
“It was free,” he says as he starts the engine. “Can you believe it? They put my face on a billboard and gave me a free truck. Said I could lease a new one for as long as I play here.”