Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Maybe I’ll meet someone there,” she says through a sigh.
I scoff. “How about we just plan on girl time?”
“That’s probably smart.” She sniffles. “I’ll call you tomorrow after I get to work and talk to Helen.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She hangs up, and I let out a breath, then finish what I started.
I take the spaghetti out of the microwave and sprinkle it with fresh parmesan, then put the lid on it. I wrap the garlic bread in foil, then put two of the apple oatmeal spice cookies I normally eat for breakfast in a baggy. I place everything in one of the warmer bags I use for my lunch, then grab my keys and leave the house.
When I arrive next door at Bax’s, I ring the bell and wait, then wait some more, as my insides twist into a nervous mess. Just when I’m about to leave, the front door opens, and my mouth instantly goes dry. Seeing Bax fully clothed might knock me and the rest of the female population off-kilter, but him standing in front of me wearing only a pair of sleep pants, with his tattooed, muscular torso on display, turns my brain to mush, and my insides liquid.
“Oli?” He frowns, and I shove the bag I’m holding at him.
“I didn’t want you to have to cook,” I say, and he lifts his eyes, which were on the bag now in his hands, to me. “It’s just spaghetti and garlic bread.” I back up a step and stupidly don’t realize there is an actual step behind me, so I stumble backward off it.
“Shit.” He takes a stride toward me as I right myself, but I continue to back away from him.
“I’m okay.” God, my face feels like it’s on fire. “There are also cookies.” I move another pace backward. “Have a good night.” With that, I spin on my heels and rush away, trying not to look like I’m rushing.
“Oli?”
Where is a portal when you need one?
“Yeah?” I turn to look over my shoulder from where I’ve stopped on the lawn between his and Kourtney’s houses.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I bite my lip when I see the roguish smile tilting up his lips, then hustle the rest of the way home. Once I’m locked in the house, I attempt to get the vision of a shirtless Bax out of my head.
But I quickly learn—that’s impossible.
CHAPTER 5
Olivia
“You live next door to Bax Mayson?” Holly, who works the front desk, asks as she bursts into my tiny office, causing me to jump. I almost spill my coffee down the front of my scrubs.
“Umm… yes?” I frown, watching her fall into the chair I use when I’m doing injections.
“How did I not know this?” She matches my expression, gathering her long, blonde hair up into a bun and wrapping a hair tie around it.
“Because it’s not a big deal. How did you even find out?”
“My grandma lives in the same neighborhood as him and told me there was an incident yesterday with a semi-truck and that the police showed up. I put two and two together.”
“Oh.”
“She said he came out to help you and that you two seemed cozy,” she adds, acting overly nonchalant.
“We weren’t cozy.” I set my coffee aside and barely avoid rolling my eyes.
“Well, she said you were.”
“We weren’t. I was there. He was just helping me out.”
“That’s a bummer.” She pouts. “He’s hot, and you’re…” Her eyes wander over my face as she scrutinizes me. “Well, you’re you. So I could totally see you two together.”
“He’s my older brother’s best friend.”
“Ooo.” Her eyes widen and sparkle. “A forbidden romance.”
“Don’t you have work to do?” I laugh, pushing out of my chair so I can put my empty coffee cup in the trash.
“No.” She grins. “It’s slow right now, so I have lots of time to harass you.”
“Why are we harassing Olivia?” Julie, one of the co-owners of the spa, asks as she stops at my office door with a smile.
Holly leans forward like she’s about to reveal the juiciest gossip to hit the state of Tennessee in years. “Olivia lives next to Bax Mayson, and my grandma saw them together last night.”
Julie’s eyes come to me. “Are you interested in him?”
It’s not the concern in her tone that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It’s the look on her face that does.
“He’s my brother’s best friend.”
“Who’s your brother?”
“Liam.”
“I didn’t even put two and two together with your last name.”
“Do you know Liam?”
“There aren’t too many women who don’t,” she mutters, and I press my lips together.
Sadly, she’s not wrong. My brother dates a lot and has never once had a serious girlfriend.
“And I also know Bax.”
The way she says she knows him and the look on her face makes me wonder if the two of them have hooked up. I can see him being interested in her. She’s beautiful, with blonde hair a shade darker than Holly’s, glowing skin, and perfectly proportioned features.