Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
He held the door open for her. “Yes. Hutch and Noelle are stopping by to feed the pets and take the dogs on a walk. MaeBe and Erin are going by first thing in the morning.”
Hutch and Noelle knew they were going to have sex. So did MaeBe. “Well, then I’m glad she’s not your girlfriend because that would be awkward.”
“I’m glad she’s not my girlfriend because she’s like my sister, and that would be even more awkward.” Boomer closed the door behind her, and they were suddenly in the little pool house Charlotte used as their guest room when her mother-in-law or out-of-town friends came to visit. It was a cozy space with a queen-sized bed and a small bathroom. There was a little living room made smaller by Boomer’s presence. “Now tell me why you’re worried about sex. First, if I’m going too fast, I can slow down.”
He wasn’t going fast at all. He was frustrating her with his gentlemanly ways, but he was right about her being worried. She didn’t want to be worried anymore. “I’ve been thinking about the fact that sex hasn’t been great up until now and wondering if the problem isn’t me. My sex life with my husband wasn’t exactly on fire.”
“Your sex life with the guy who belittled you and was generally an asshole wasn’t great? And it might have been your fault and not the asshole’s?” Boomer wore a blue button-down that nearly matched his eyes. He reached down and unbuttoned the cuff at his left hand, starting to slowly roll it up.
Like he was about to go to work. On her. Damn, when he did that, her mouth started to water. “When you put it like that, it does sound silly. He wasn’t a physical man. I might have convinced myself I didn’t need this either. I might have convinced myself of a lot of things that aren’t true.”
He rolled up his left sleeve and then went to work on the right. The sight of his forearms making an appearance held all of her focus. “Well, I had my hand on that little clit of yours yesterday, and it felt pretty needy to me. I was not at all concerned with your coldness because you were hot, baby.”
She was feeling hot again. Arousal had started to thrum through her system, a sweet chorus. “I felt hot. I need you to understand that I think you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met, and it’s not merely all this gorgeousness that makes you sexy. It’s the way you take care of everyone around you.”
“I want to take care of you.” He stepped in close to her, looming over her in the best way possible. He took up a lot of space, but in the way a shade tree would—protective and comforting. “You’re going to let me take care of you tonight, aren’t you, Daphne? Do you know how long I’ve wanted to get you alone? I adore Lou, but I’ve been desperate for this time with you.”
She believed him. Every word he said. There was a part of her that wanted to wave a bunch of red flags and point out that anything that sounded too good to be true always was.
But she was done with that voice. She was listening to the new one, the one that said tomorrow would be better and that she deserved someone like Boomer. The voice that held all of her hope.
She brought her hands up to cup his cheeks. “Me, too. I know I work a lot and you work a lot, but I want to make time for us. Even if we have to steal it for a little while.”
He leaned against her hand, rubbing the scruff of his beard over her palm. “I’ll come down to the bakery for lunch every day next week if I have to.”
She was going to need to buy a lot more deli meat and cheese and make more bread because her guy could eat. “It’s a date.”
There was nothing she wanted more than private time with this man. She’d loved their dinner tonight, loved watching him eat far more than any man who looked that good should be able to eat. She’d gotten him talking about himself for once, and he’d entertained her with stories about the adventures he’d had over the years.
He was fascinating, and she’d never met a man like him, one who was seemingly simple, but who thought about everyone around him.
He kissed her again, the sensation at once excited and yet familiar, though he’d only kissed her a handful of times. There was something comforting and easy about being with Boomer. Somehow he managed to strip away her insecurities with a kiss or some words. If he was playing her, she didn’t want to know. He was it for her, and she didn’t want a world where he wasn’t real.