Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
He was reevaluating his time line. Waiting two weeks before sleeping with her was perhaps a bit unrealistic.
“I have to get there in an hour, before the first graders get out of school, so that I can set up. I don’t mean to rush you, but this is going to have to be a fast lunch.”
“And maybe you want to get me out of here before more of the townsfolk wander in and spot us together?” Another blush. He stifled a sigh.
So sweet. And so expected.
Lia wasn’t sure what had changed, but the interested and disarming Sam Brand of that morning disappeared sometime between lunch and the library. Instead of charming everyone he came into contact with, he barely acknowledged them. He stifled yawns and seemed distracted and just plain rude. The children were clearly intimidated by him and kept well away. Mrs. Salie, the librarian, smiled and introduced herself warmly. All she got in response was a curt “how do you do?” without a smile or a handshake in sight.
Lia ushered him into the farthest corner of the reading room and hoped that the children would forget he was there. But the more he sat there and glowered, the more annoyed she became.
By the time the kids’ parents came to pick them up, she was fuming so much she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. She rarely lost her temper and never raised her voice, but right now both of those seemed not just possible but highly probable.
She was silent on the drive back, ignoring his attempts at conversation, and when they got back to the cabin, she swiveled in the driver’s seat and glowered at him. The expression felt heavy and unfamiliar on her face, and she wasn’t sure how it looked. Lia frowned, she glared, she froze with a stare, but she rarely full-on glowered. She was tempted to glance in the rearview mirror to check if it looked as awful as it felt but didn’t want to spoil the effect, especially not with him blinking at her in surprise.
“What did I do to earn this look?” he asked, and she’d swear he sounded amused, even though his bland expression didn’t change at all. That annoyed her even more.
“You were so rude. I asked you to be nice. I asked you not to be dismissive, and yet you were both.”
“To be fair, you made those requests before the senior citizens’ dance.”
“Would it have been such a stretch for you to behave like a civilized human being all the way through the afternoon? You scared the children.”
“Hardly.”
“This may seem like some kind of joke to you, Brand, and maybe it all seemed small and trite, but the people we met today, the things we did, are important to me. This is my life, not some show I put on exclusively to entertain you.”
“It wasn’t my scene,” he said, his voice sounding sulky, and she felt her brow lower even more.
“Perhaps not, but you’re not a child! For heaven’s sake, the first graders I read to this afternoon would have more success in hiding their bad mood than you did.”
She sighed heavily.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Have a good evening,” she said, wanting him out of her car. He frowned.
“Whoa, what about my dinner?”
“Since we had lunch at MJ’s, you can have the lasagna I prepared for your lunch as dinner.”
“What about other things? What if I need help with . . . stuff?”
“I’m sure you’ll cope,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Stay out of the tub, but keep the cast dry if you decide to hop into the shower.”
“I won’t be able to get out of this shirt. Can you help me with these buttons at least?”
She worried her lower lip with her teeth, contemplating the buttons for a moment. She didn’t want to, she really didn’t want to, but when she raised her eyes to his, he looked so hopeful and kind of sad and pitiful at the same time. She knew he was playing her, she knew it, but there were a lot of buttons on that shirt.
“Look, I’m sorry I was a dick this afternoon. I was tired and in a bit of pain, and those kids were so energetic, just looking at them exhausted me.”
It was a terrible apology and so insincere she was a little insulted he thought she’d believe a word of it.
“I’ll help you with that shirt, but only because of our agreement. I don’t go back on my word.”
“Meaning I do?” He managed to look quite offended by her implication, but Lia wasn’t going to apologize.
“If the shoe fits.” She shrugged, unbuckling her seat belt and exiting the car before he could respond.
She was in the cabin and gulping down a glass of water in the kitchen by the time he finally made his way inside.