Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Suddenly, every muscle in my body starts to tense and relax, over and over, my thirty-seven-year-old mind telling me I need to work out more. For fuck’s sake. I’m outrageously fit. In incredible shape. But good shape doesn’t always mean good health.
Thirty-eight on Monday.
The thought makes me hold Ava’s leg tighter. She hasn’t asked me when my birthday is. She hasn’t told me hers either, not that she needs to. Her driver’s license is imprinted on my mind after I had a bad-mannered rummage through her handbag on our first meeting. February 27th. Which sucks incredibly, because she only just turned twenty-six a few months ago. Which means I’m only eleven years older than her for three months. For the other nine months of the year, I’m a whole twelve years older than her.
I grimace and sink into my chair. A birth date is kind of standard information in a relationship.
Boundless. The natural progression.
“Well, I’ve only got nine years left, so I’d better get my fill.” Kate’s dry quip wakes me from my silent musings. Nine years until she’s thirty-five. God, how I wish I could be young again. How differently I would have done things. But as I look at Ava, who appears to be in a consistent state of shock this lunchtime, I hate the notion that by doing anything different in my life, I might not have met her. And once again I’m mulling over the painful fact that I’ve had to lose everything I’ve ever loved to find her. I swallow and drop my eyes to the table. Anything it takes to keep her. Because I can’t fucking lose again.
“It hits us women worse than you lot.”
I look up and see Kate waving a wine glass around in the air, her attention on us lot. The men. Though what she’s talking about, I can’t recall.
“Is that what happened to you, Jesse?” Ava asks, forcing me to push away my depressing thoughts and think really hard about what the fuck we were talking about. My arse cheeks clench again, as if reminding me.
“No.” I look at her, relishing her poorly concealed grin. “Do you think I’m lacking in the body department?”
“You know I don’t.”
“So, I’m still your god?”
“You’re an arrogant god.”
I haul her into me and kiss the daylights out of her. Would she let me be more than just her arrogant god? Like . . . her arrogant husband? Boundless. She pushes herself into me, taking everything I’m giving and at the same time begging for more, her tongue greedily dueling with mine. It’s a good sign. I hear the mocking sounds of our friends from around the table and release her, enjoying the sight of her flushed face for a few moments.
“Seriously, you guys,” Kate moans, and I glance at her. She’s smiling. She was half asleep this morning when I called her, but she thinks this rhino’s idea is a good one. Great. Me too. “Here’s the food, so enough with the sloppy shit.”
“Feeling left out?” Sam asks, smothering her, making her push him off. He takes a few French fries and shoves them past his lips, smiling around his chewing when Kate shakes her head.
“Eat up, baby,” I say, putting Ava’s plate in front of her.
“You eat up too,” she retorts, mimicking my move and dragging my plate closer. “Sorry, they didn’t have peanut butter.”
“Criminal,” I mutter, collecting my fork and stabbing at a chip, keeping one hand free and on Ava’s thigh. “How’s the van?”
Kate sighs and swallows. “Dreamy. If you weren’t so stinking rich, I’d offer to pay you back.”
“Very honorable of you. Lucky for you, I’m stinking rich.” I cast a look across to Ava. “So rich, in fact, Ava could give up work if she liked.”
“She doesn’t like,” she says over a laugh. “Because she loves her job.”
“Don’t I know it,” I mumble. “What about your own business?” I ask, casual, feeling three sets of interested eyes bouncing between me and Ava.
“I’ve never thought about it.” She frowns, and I smile on the inside. That’s one seed planted. How fast can I make it grow? “Maybe one day. Patrick is a great boss, and I’m not really in any position to take a leap so big. I’ve not even got my own place.”
I dart a stunned look her way, and she flinches, looking apologetic. She still doesn’t see Lusso as her home. She still doesn’t see my money as hers. For fuck’s sake, what will it take?
“I delivered a cake in the shape of a penis today,” Kate pipes in, an obvious attempt to distract me from my grievance. “It was massive.”
“I got to spread the icing,” Sam adds, proud. “I’ve never seen a cake ejaculate before.”
Ava laughs, and I shake my head in dismay while Drew looks plain horrified. “Who the hell orders a penis cake?” He considers the chip in his hand, the tip dowsed in mayo, and grimaces, dropping it to his plate and brushing off his hands. “I’m full.”