Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“That’s… definitely something you need to consider,” I agreed. “Are the developers offering a lot?”
“Half a million,” she told me. “It’s enough to start over somewhere else. And get myself a house. Likely a small house, in this market. But still. Something that’s mine.”
“Would you stay in Jersey?” I asked, finding myself a little too invested in the answer to that question.
“It’s what I know, so probably. Maybe I’d move closer to the beach or something. Summer traffic would be great for business.”
“Navesink Bank is beach-adjacent,” I heard myself saying, wishing I could fucking suck the words back in as soon as they were out of my mouth.
“Right,” she said, smiling now. “Trading one area teeming with criminals for another.”
“Hey, at least most of us have codes and wouldn’t fuck with innocent women.”
“Oh, yes. The old mafia code of conduct.”
“Hey, don’t forget that we have the bikers, the loan sharks, the drug dealers…”
“I would probably want a business closer to the actual beach,” she said. “It was like fifteen or twenty minutes from Navesink Bank to the beach, if I remember correctly.”
“You do,” I confirmed. “Close enough to go as often as you want. Far enough to avoid most of the shore traffic.”
“Hey,” she said, lips twitching.
“What?”
“We’re actually having a conversation without snapping at each other.”
“Miracles do happen,” I said, nodding.
“I really must need sleep,” she added. “I usually find you pretty intolerable,” she added, goading me just for fun.
“You should at least try,” I agreed, making my way back toward the door. “Aurelio is getting your store boarded up in the morning. Then we need to hit up your place and check shit out.”
“Right,” she agreed, and I wasn’t exactly sure why her eyes widened like they did. “Yeah, of course,” she said, banking the look back down before I could really analyze it.
Eventually, I caught a couple of hours, waking up to the smell of freshly brewing coffee and bacon.
I hadn’t woken up to coffee and food since I lived at home. Even before I was fully awake, I could suddenly see the appeal of having a significant other, someone to share the task of getting up first and brewing some coffee.
Even as I folded up on the couch, though, Traveler’s door was sliding open, and she was moving into the doorway, sniffing at the air.
Aurelio.
Of course he’d gotten up first. He’d passed out earlier than us.
“That coffee actually smells really good,” she said, tying the sash of the fluffy hotel robe tightly around her waist.
Her hair was wet from the shower and pulled back. But she wasn’t puffy like she’d been up all night. That was good at least.
“Yeah, it does,” I agreed, getting up off the couch and rolling a crick out of my neck from sleeping on the uncomfortable-as-fuck thing.
When I looked back down, though, I caught Traveler’s gaze moving down my chest and torso, then shooting guiltily back up and away.
“There you are,” Aurelio said, as I followed Traveler into the kitchen, trying to act like I hadn’t caught her eye-fucking me. Because, well, this shit did not need to get more complicated than it already was.
“How did you shower?” I asked, brows scrunched at his perfectly put together appearance.
“My gym has a branch here. I got in a quick workout and shower before meeting the guys at Traveler’s shop,” he said, handing her a cup of coffee. “I stole a bag of your ground coffee while I was there,” he told her.
“That explains why it smells so good,” she said, taking a long sniff before sipping. “Does it look as bad as August said?” she asked.
“It’s… not pretty,” he said, pushing something round and wrapped toward her. “I have an extra one with meat, if you eat it, but that one is just egg and cheese,” he explained.
And, yeah, Aurelio would pick up on the hippy-chick vibe at her shop, and likely draw conclusions about what she did or didn’t eat.
“We swept up the glass and crystals,” he went on. “I saved the chunks that were big enough to,” he added. “And I grabbed the plants that had broken pots. They’re in my car. I figured you could toss them into dirt when we drop by your house.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” she said, giving him a smile without a hint of sarcasm, something I wasn’t sure she’d ever given me. And I found myself jealous of my fucking cousin for the attention he was getting from a woman I thought I didn’t like.
“They didn’t go for your cash,” Aurelio added, handing me a bagel with egg, cheese, and bacon.
“I think it has less to do with money, and more to do with me,” Traveler said, her head shaking. “How’s my truck?” she asked, looking up quickly enough to catch Aurelio’s wince. “That good, huh?”