Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Someone call 911 because I need a firefighter to put out these flames. There’s only one outcome when you’re dealing with a fire—someone’s going to get burned. And I don’t doubt for a second, that someone will be me.
What the heck is he even doing here?
When I finally peel my eyes off of him, I notice my brother and Willow are also heading toward us. He must’ve been at the shop and decided to join them. But why? I’m sure he has better things to do on his day off than hang out with a single mom and her daughter.
“Hey, Mini-Q,” he calls out, and my eyes, of their own accord, roll upward into my head. Kinsley told me all about his nickname for her. Apparently because she’s a little me. I would love to know if he considers that a good or bad thing. Well, he did say he’s intrigued by me and wants to get to know me…
When the three of them reach us, Kinsley grabs the soccer ball and drags Jax down the field. Of course, Willow follows. Lachlan, though, remains standing in front of me. “Hey,” he says, giving me a nonchalant chin lift.
“Hey,” I parrot. Reaching down, I grab a bottle of water from the small cooler I brought with me and down half the bottle. When I lower the bottle from my lips, I see Lachlan is once again staring at me.
“What?” I ask, glancing down at myself. Today, I’m dressed for the occasion in a pair of grey Victoria’s Secret boyfriend style sweatpants and a matching hoodie.
“I’m just wondering when I’ll get to see you without all that clothing covering your body.” He nods toward my outfit with a glare, as if it’s personally offending him.
“Sorry.” I scoff. “But I’m not exactly in the habit of leaving my house in my birthday suit, so I’m pretty sure any time you see me, I’ll be in clothes.”
“I get that,” he says with a hint of a smile, “but right now, all I have to go by is my imagination…and it’s been running fucking wild.” Jesus! This man sure has a way with words.
“Well, I can assure you,” I volley back, “whatever images your wild imagination has conjured up is probably better than the real thing. Trust me when I tell you, you do not want to see all that is hidden under here. Stick to your imagination.” I meant it as a joke, kind of. Okay, more like a warning, but Lachlan doesn’t laugh, nor does he heed my warning. Instead, he frowns and steps closer to me.
“I highly doubt that,” he says, his tone serious, “but I wasn’t referring to your body. I was referring to your tattoos. Both times I’ve seen you, you’ve had them covered up.” Oh…well, shit. He is a tattoo artist, so it makes sense he would be curious about what my tattoos look like. “But, I will admit,” he continues, “I have also fantasized on more than one occasion since we’ve met, what you would look like splayed out across my bed, naked, and spread open for me.” The way he grins, tells me he’s being crass on purpose to get a rise out of me.
“Well, like I said,” I say, trying, and failing, not to get flustered, “stick to the fantasy. The reality will be a severe let down.” I laugh humorlessly, and Lachlan’s frown deepens.
“Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Talk about yourself in such a self-deprecating manner. Both times we’ve spoken, you’ve put yourself down.” When my eyes fall to the ground, embarrassed, Lachlan lifts my chin so I’m forced to look at him. “You’re an extremely beautiful woman, Quinn.”
“Whatever,” I mutter, unsure how else to respond. “What are you doing here?” I take a step back so he’s no longer touching me.
Lachlan gives me a look I can’t decipher because I don’t know him well enough. If I had to guess, I would say he’s considering arguing with me, but he must think better of it because he says, “Jax mentioned coming here to play soccer with Kinsley, so I asked if I could join.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” He gives me a perplexed look. “She’s a cool kid, and I grew up playing soccer.”
“Okay, well, I just hope you’re not doing it as a way to get me to change my mind about going out with you…because…”
Lachlan chuckles. “Yeah, I know, it’s not going to happen.” Then he mutters something that sounds like “such a contradiction” under his breath. But before I can ask him what he means by that, he’s already running over to join Jax, Kinsley, and Willow.
* * *
Despite the rocky start, the morning spent with Lachlan and my family is enjoyable. I watch while Lachlan shows Kinsley tons of moves, and join in so we can play a game of two-on-two—Willow offers to referee. Kinsley is on cloud nine with all the attention Lachlan gives her. She laughs and talks animatedly with him. She even insists on being on the same team as him. At one point, Jax jokes he should’ve just sent Lachlan here.