Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“You heard the man,” Max says, walking to his Mercedes. “We’re hungry.”
Chapter Five
~Max~
“WILL YOU PLEASE PASS me that paintbrush?” Jenna asks the next day. We’re standing in one of her rental properties. The former tenants moved out, and she’s sprucing it up for the next ones.
I hand her the brush, and she gets to work painting the trim on the window in the master bedroom.
“How much do you rent this for?” I ask, looking around. The house is older, in an original neighborhood in Cunningham Falls. It’s near schools and downtown.
“Fifteen hundred,” she replies with a smile. “I snatched it up when the market was down.”
“You could get more than that.”
“Not everyone can afford more than that,” she reminds me with a shrug. “It covers the mortgage and the upkeep with a little extra, so it’s fine. If you want to start on that wall, the roller is over there.”
“How did I get roped into this?”
She offers me a bright smile.
“You love me, and you miss me. This way, you get to spend time with me.”
“You’re engaged to a movie star, and your brother has more money than any one person should. We could pay someone to do this.”
She stares out the window for a second, contemplating, then shrugs again. “I like to do it. You don’t have to paint if you don’t want to. Just chat with me.”
“I can do both,” I reply, loading the paint on the roller, then gliding it onto the wall.
“How’s Willa?” she asks.
“Beautiful,” I reply immediately. “Funny. Sexy. Smart.”
“But how do you really feel?” she asks with a laugh. “I think it’s great you’re spending time together again. Do you like Alex?”
“He’s great.” I turn back to the tray of paint to reload my roller. “She’s done a good job of raising him. He’s not a brat, he has manners, and he’s a kick in the butt.”
“Alex is the best,” Jenna agrees. “He’s so fun-loving and sweet.”
“Like his mom,” I say softly. “But I see a lot of Cary in him, as well.”
“Agreed,” Jenna says with a sigh before taking a sip of her coffee and examining her handiwork. “They’re a cute little package.”
“And I’m squarely in the friend zone,” I say in disgust. “I don’t think I can do it, Jen.”
“Be her friend?”
“Be just her friend. She’s still the most amazing person I’ve ever known. I don’t want to be her buddy.”
“Of course, you don’t,” Jenna says, surprising me. “Willa was never just your friend, Max. She was your girl. It makes absolute sense that you want more now.”
“I don’t know what to do about it,” I admit. “She fights me at every turn. I offer to help with things, simple things, and she immediately puts up a wall and says, ‘that’s okay.’ She’s so damn stubborn.”
“It’s been just her for nine years,” Jenna reminds me. “She’s had to depend on herself. Yes, she has parents and friends who help, but it’s not the same as having a partner. So, it makes sense that she is resistant to accept help from a man. A man that she has feelings for but who hasn’t been a part of her life in a very long time.”
“Are you a shrink now?” I ask, setting the roller down and propping my hands on my hips.
“I’m smart,” she says. “You’re not the only one in the family with brains. So, here’s the million-dollar question.”
“I’ll pay you a million dollars if we can change the subject,” I reply, making her snort.
“Why haven’t you asked her out?”
I blink at her, then scowl. “Because this is Willa.”
“And?”
“And up until a couple weeks ago, we weren’t even speaking.”
“You are now.” She sips her coffee. “And Willa is a woman, Max. Not just a mom or your old girlfriend. She’s a woman who wants some romance. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.”
“Huh.” I rub my hand over the back of my neck. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re smart, but you’re too stuck in your head. You romanced her once before, and it worked because she was head over heels in love with you. Do what you did then but on steroids. Court her.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” I check the time on my Apple watch and grin. “It’s lunchtime.”
“Are you thinking of food now?” she asks.
“No. I’m going to take Willa some lunch and ask her out.”
“Atta boy,” she says, offering me her fist to bump. “Go get your girl.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and paint?”
“Yeah, I do want you to stay and paint,” she replies, making me pause and stare at her. “Kidding. Get out of here. I’ll call Willa later and get all the details.”
I grin, then hurry out of the house and to my SUV. If I remember correctly, Willa could never resist the tacos from José’s, so I swing through there and order her favorite—chicken tacos with chips and salsa—then walk down the block to Willa’s shop.