Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Casey was twirling his hair, which he did when he was concentrating hard on something. “Why does that matter again?”
“Because no matter how irritating Rowan is as a boss—”
“And as a human being,” he pointed out.
I nodded. “His ex is that much worse. A complete jackass.”
“You obviously don’t know all the deets about their relationship, so you’re making assumptions.”
“I overheard one of their arguments.” I winced. “And it’s way different between them than I imagined.”
“How exactly?” he asked, and I threw my arms over my head. I didn’t want to be invested in Rowan’s life or relationships, but here I was.
“Because Rowan seemed different during their conversation? I don’t know how to explain it. Like, he’d put his trust in that man, and Brett ruined that trust by cheating on him.”
Casey’s eyes widened. “Damn, that sucks. But again, you have no idea what went on in their relationship. Cheating might’ve just been a symptom of their problems.”
“True. But that would certainly cut deep. No wonder he’s so…I don’t know.” I made a frustrated sound. “You think I’m making excuses for him.”
“You sort of are, right?” He went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats. “You’re saying he’s hurt and had his trust broken, and that’s why he’s so closed off?”
“Probably?” I sounded way too invested, but this job had thrown me for a loop in so many ways. What was one more thing?
“Doesn’t it say something that you’ve worked for the guy for months and still don’t know much about him other than what you’ve heard through gossip?” He pulled a T-shirt from his drawer.
“Some people need time to get to know someone.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, I think someone stole my brain.” I forked my fingers through my hair. “I should’ve never gotten so involved.”
“Speaking of which, was that all that happened? A kiss on the cheek and holding hands?”
I wouldn’t look at him as I rolled over and shoved my face into the pillow.
“Christ, what have you done?” He thumped the back of my thigh. “Did you kiss kiss him?”
I nodded and groaned into the material.
I felt him sit on the bed. Casey was quiet a beat before he asked, “So how was the kiss?”
I finally lifted my head, thinking about that moment between us. It was one of many last night. “Surprisingly soft and tender.”
He snickered. “How did you think he would be?”
“Like all angry and growly.”
Casey lifted a brow. “Was that a fantasy too?”
“What?” I whined. “I have never fantasized about my boss.”
So not true, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I might’ve believed that a couple of months ago, but now I’m not so sure.” He yanked on my arm to get up, so I rolled out of bed and followed him to the kitchen.
“Okay, enough. It was just a thing that happened to make his ex jealous, and everything will be just as shitty when I go back to work on Monday.”
“I sure hope so—well, not the shitty part—but you might be very wrong on this.”
“What do you mean?” I opened the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs. I could use something for my sour stomach.
Following my lead, Casey reached for a frying pan and lit the burner on the stove. “Won’t everyone be talking about it?”
“Only if someone saw us. But this was at the end of the night, and most attendees had already left.” Was that accurate? I couldn’t say for sure. Besides, it wasn’t like we were being stalked by paparazzi. Rowan might’ve been a celebrity stylist—and the son of a famous designer—but the photographers were more interested in snapping photos of the celebs he dressed.
“Except for Brett and his date.” He cracked an egg, and it crackled in the frying pan. “And you did it to make him jealous?”
I nodded. “Even so, this isn’t Stockton, where gossip spreads like wildfire.”
In this city, I could be anonymous. Sure, I passed the same guy at the corner deli every day, but he didn’t give two shits about my life. Okay, maybe that was kind of sad too. The good thing was that even if I made mistakes, I could start over without anyone knowing about it. Except for my nosy roommate, of course.
If I’d kissed my boss at a fundraiser in Stockton, the whole damned town would’ve known by the time church started on Sunday morning. And for a gay kid who didn’t have a lot of frogs to kiss, that sucked most of all.
At least there were thousands of frogs to kiss in the city, and none of them even had to know my name. Not that I wanted to make out with all of them.
“Everything should be normal on Monday.” I pulled out the toaster. “Like nothing ever happened.”
“You’re right about the small-town stuff, in theory,” he said, adding cheese to the skillet. “But workplaces are rife with gossip too. What if Kendall finds out?”