Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Now in my arms where she belongs, I carry her into the living room, depositing her on the large couch and moving in the opposite direction.
She huffs. “Where are you going?”
“To get popcorn.”
“Um, okay, but why?”
“Because we’re going to watch a movie.”
“Are we now?”
“Yep.” I head into the kitchen, grab a container of popcorn, and place it in the microwave. It’s nothing fancy, but I don’t want fancy right now. I just want to spend time with her. As I wait for it to pop, I grab a bowl and fill it once it’s ready.
Would this be what it would be like if we could openly be together? Simple, easy, just two people lying on a couch, eating popcorn, and watching a movie. I head back in and find her sprawled out with her legs kicked up on the ottoman. She’s grabbed a throw blanket and has it draped over her lap. The TV is already on, and it looks like she picked a movie.
“What did you pick?” I ask as I take the spot next to her, depositing the bowl on her lap.
“Something we’ll both like.”
Vague much? The sound of the TV has me looking up. Credits rolling, it doesn’t take me long to realize she picked the saddest movie on this godforsaken planet.
“Interesting choice.”
“Who doesn’t love Titanic?”
“I don’t know, maybe Jack.” As if my hands are possessed, I lift her legs off the ottoman and start messaging them. “Think if we watch it enough, Rose will share her door with him?”
“There wasn’t any room.”
“Note to self: never go on a boat with you.”
She crinkles her nose. “Not on this salary, seeing as I’m an unpaid intern.” She releases a yawn.
I pull her close, her head resting on my shoulder as the film begins. There’s no way I’ll be able to finish this movie.
Hellfire relaxes me.
With her in my arms, I fall asleep.
47
JOSIE
With today being an off day, I show up at the practice arena to get some work done. The guys are practicing, and I’m supposed to take some videos of them. Nothing crazy, just hockey players training before a game to rev up the crowd. When I started working, despite Laurie’s and my father’s doubts, I started a TikTok page, and it has since gone viral. Fun fact: viral videos equal more sales.
Today, I’ll be taking fun shots of the guys getting ready for the game against the Bulldogs. Apparently, they played them last year during the playoffs. I figure I can do some fun training montages and set them to music like they did in the Rocky movies.
As I approach the ice, I lift my phone and start to film them. A few videos of the team running drills should do. Nothing too crazy, but if I can get the right angle, it will work.
Hudson, of course, is showboating.
Currently, he’s flexing his muscles in front of me while the rest of the guys are stretching.
“Cut that shit out, Wilde,” Dane grumbles.
“She loves it. Don’t you, Josie?” The smirk on Hudson’s face is ridiculous. He looks like the cat that got the canary. Whereas Dane is more like a shaken can of soda . . . destined to explode.
“Wilde! Sin! Enough,” my father barks at them. “Now split into three groups.”
I watch as the guys move the puck quickly through each group, taking turns, each one eventually taking a shot.
The videos are longer than I’ll need, so I’ll have to edit, but I think it will be a really fun clip. And yes, I’ll conclude it with Hudson flexing. The fans will get a kick out of it, even if Dane did not.
“Josie?” My father snaps a pen into the teeth of his clipboard, lowering it to his side. “A word, please?”
“Is it urgent? I have an appointment.”
His brows furrow, and suddenly, he’s aged ten years before me. “Is everything okay?”
Serves me right for blurting out the first excuse I could think of.
“A-ok. Just, ya know, girl stuff.”
With that, I dart out of the rink and head to the back offices.
Ditching my father? Not my finest moment. Of course, the universe punishes me with a boatload of work.
I spend the rest of the day rewatching footage and marking timestamps for highlight worthy clips. When I can’t put it off anymore, I make my way to my father’s office to start editing on his computer.
I close the door behind me and walk over to his desk. Even though I’ve worked here for months, I’ve never actually looked around. Who am I kidding? This has nothing to do with looking around and everything to do with snooping. Despite my best attempts to want to know nothing about my father, I’m curious, so I find myself rummaging through his stuff now. I start to thumb over the items lying haphazardly on the wood surface, leafing through the documents.