Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“One, I can order right now, and two …” I lean down and kiss her with my tongue, picking her up and placing her on the counter. Her legs open so I can fit between them, and my hands itch to slip under her sweater. As I move my mouth from one side to the other, our tongues are dancing with each other. The kiss leaves us both breathless. “I need to order some food,” I say, kissing her lips softly. “So we can eat.” I kiss the side of her mouth. “We need to talk.”
“More talking?” she moans, throwing her head back. “Fine. Order me food and then we can talk.” She smiles. “And then we can make out.”
“Is pizza good?” I ask her, stepping away but then going back to her when I miss her touch. I place the order and then put my phone down. “I spoke with Jeffrey today,” I tell her and lean in to kiss her neck. She scrunches her shoulder and giggles.
“The beard tickles,” she says. “What did he say?”
“I told him we’re together,” I tell her, then smile. “It was a great fucking day.”
“Was it now?” She looks down. “How was the talk with my father?”
“Good,” I tell her. “I mean, Matthew came with Max and Evan.” Her mouth falls open. “It was fine. It was more of a what are you going to do.”
“Jesus.” She hides her face with her hands. “You aren’t asking for my hand in marriage.” She takes her hands off. “Right? You aren’t asking me for my hand in marriage?”
I laugh now and kiss her, and she kisses me back, something that comes so naturally. “No, I didn’t ask for your hand in marriage. But I did tell them my intentions.”
“This is 2019, right?” she says. “I can date who I want.”
“They love you,” I tell her. “Accept it.”
“I don’t see your father calling me to talk to me,” she says, and I laugh.
“My father would have to give a shit first,” I say to her and then see her look at me with worry. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my father, and he loves me, in his own way.”
“What way is that?” she asks me, not judging or feeling sorry for me but wanting to know
“From as far back as I can remember, he was always hard on us. Well, me. My sister pretty much could do what she wanted, but I had to play hockey. Had to. There was no getting around that one. He was always a coach before he was a dad. I had to skate harder and skate faster. We would have team practices, and he would yell at me the whole time.” I shrug now. “It is what it is. I guess it made me the hockey player I am today.” I smile at her. “So yeah, I thought it was a good talk.”
“Nothing that has Matthew involved is a good talk. Last year, he had my father buy a summer home near Max’s and then buy kayaks.” She laughs changing the subject and I let her.
“What’s wrong with that?” I ask her.
“It’s in the woods. Like literally a hunter’s cabin,” she says. “They didn’t even tell anyone; they just bought it.”
“It’s nice that he wants to be closer to Max,” I tell her and try not to laugh.
“The kitchen is from nineteen forty-two,” she says. “He had to gut the house and have one rebuilt or my mother was not going.”
I shake my head. “Anyway, it was fine,” I tell her. “Then I told Jeffrey, and then I went to a meeting.”
“I’d like to go with you one day,” she says quietly, and I try to hide my shock with a smile. “I mean, if it’s okay.” She then hides her eyes. “I mean, I don’t want to pry and all that.” I lift her chin with my finger.
“I would love for you to come to a meeting with me,” I tell her, and she smiles at me with everything she has. The door buzzes, and I walk away from her to get the pizza, and by the time I turn around, she has the plates out.
“Where did you want to eat?” she asks, and I point at the table. She grabs the stuff and meets me at the table, and I open the top and we both grab a slice. While she’s eating, Zara sends her a video of Zoey crying and then my phone pings, and she sees my screen saver. “What is that?”
“Nothing,” I say and try to hide it, but she snatches the phone from me, and she sees that I made her my screen saver. You can’t really see it with the apps in front of it, but her hair is everywhere.
She looks down and then looks up at me. “When did you take this?”