Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“I kind of do.”
“You know things about me. That’s not the same.”
“But he did mimic you.”
And so she thought there was a chance that she and Deke would suit each other.
“In a way, I was talking to you,” she added, a belligerent little lift to her chin.
“No, Maisy, you weren’t. The details he gave you about me—they were all surface. His own personality leaked through. I know that for certain, because you showed me many of the messages he sent you. A lot of the things he did and said aren’t things I would have.”
“Maybe not totally, but—”
“I’m not a guy who’d seek out an online relationship. Sending sweet, flowery texts isn’t my style either. I wouldn’t stay awake until the early hours of the morning talking to someone on the phone. I don’t much like talking on the phone period.”
“What if—”
“His sense of humor is nothing like mine. The advice he gave you on this or that wasn’t the kind that I’d have given you. His goals and dreams definitely aren’t in line with my own—I’m not looking to get married, go on road trips, climb Mount Everest, or move to Italy one day.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay, so I don’t really know you,” she reluctantly relented, “but would it really be so bad for us to get to know each other?”
He sighed. “Look, I get it. You cared for him. A lot. And all the emotion you invested in him is tied up in my pictures.” It had to be easy for her to feel comfortable with Deke; to imagine them together because she’d been doing it for so long. “But it wouldn’t be healthy for you to have any contact with me when you’re trying to heal from what he did.”
With a frustrated groan, Maisy dipped her head and buried her face in her hands.
The bell chimed again as the door once more swung open. Traffic noise swept in, overridden by a female laugh. A laugh he knew well. So he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Bailey file into the diner with Havana and Aspen.
His gut clenched at the sight of the mamba. Her gaze did a predatory scan of the large space. Her gaze halted on him and then narrowed as it took in Maisy. Bailey sniffed … and went right back to scanning the diner in an act of pure dismissal.
Predictably, his cat bared his teeth. Deke really was going to throttle her later. Or maybe just fuck her until she couldn’t take it anymore.
Her mouth curved, and he tracked her gaze to see that Blair and Elle were waving from their table in the far corner. Bailey and her girls began making their way to said table. Havana and Aspen noticed him, and both sent a pretty smile his way. Bailey pointedly ignored him once more.
Yeah, he was going to pound into her until she could no longer take it.
Maisy lifted her head and dropped her hands. “I get what you’re saying, Deke. I do. But I can’t see it being a big deal for us to strike up a friendship.”
Jesus Christ.
Bailey didn’t care that Deke was having dinner with another female. Nope. Not in the slightest. It mattered not one iota to her.
Me thinks I doth protest too much.
What-the-fuck-ever.
Taking a mental dump over the questions that tried flowing to the forefront of her mind—who was the bitch? Why was he meeting her? Was it Dayna? Did the asshole have another female lined up to help him with the touch-hunger—Bailey continued heading toward Blair and Elle. The latter female was the sister of Tate, Luke, and the youngest of the Devereaux brothers, Damian.
She hadn’t told her girls what went down last night, or about the agreement that she and Deke had made. Mostly because it would annoy them to find out days later. But also because part of her suspected that, in the light of day, he’d change his mind. She’d find out soon enough. For now, she’d ignore him.
Reaching Blair and Elle’s table, she smiled. Both women were slouched back in their seats, a hand on their stomach, empty plates in front of them.
“Hey, it’s great to see you guys,” said Elle. “You should sit with us.”
Shedding her jacket, Havana frowned. “You’re not done eating?”
“Not yet.” Blair slurped some milkshake through a straw. “We’re just giving ourselves a break before we order dessert.”
“I highly recommend the chili,” Elle told them. “Bailey, before you settle, maybe you can go rescue Deke.”
Pausing in hooking her damp coat over the back of a chair, Bailey tilted her head. “Huh?”
Elle leaned forward. “I think the brunette with him is Maisy.”
Aspen’s brows shot up as she plopped her butt on a chair. “Really?”
Bailey took a long look at the other female. “Yep, that’s her, all right. I saw her NetherVille profile photo.” She hadn’t recognized the human on first entering the diner—she’d only had a view of her back.