Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
“Seafood?”
“Yes,” he said in a quietly coaxing voice, feeling like he was gentling a skittish wild rabbit. “Mussels, calamari, prawns, the works.”
“Maybe I’ll have a couple of slices,” she said, the door opening even wider. She was still wearing the T-shirt of earlier, but had dragged on one of those awful, shapeless skirts with it. This one was dark blue with fucking accordion pleats. She was barefoot, and her hair was still down, it had dried in silky ripples, glinting like precious metal every time the light caught it. It fell to just past her waist and Cade wanted to gather up fistfuls of the luxurious stuff and bury his face in it.
His mouth went dry and he stepped back out of sheer self-preservation while giving the appearance of allowing her the room to pass him.
“Don’t you have any leisure wear? Like pants or shorts?” he asked in a humiliatingly croaky voice as she passed him and padded toward the kitchen. God, she smelled fucking amazing too. Nothing fancy, just softly fragranced soap and shampoo—almond and honey—and yet he couldn’t recall smelling anything quite so heady ever before.
“Not really. My stepsisters really embraced the whole ‘nun-couture’ thing. Strictly knee length—or longer—skirts and blouses, with sensible shoes. Only the very best quality of course.”
“Naturally,” came his dry rejoinder as he moved to follow her.
The still-warm pizzas were on the kitchen counter and she opened and closed a few cabinets, before finding a couple of plates. She handed one to Cade, before flipping open boxes and making throaty appreciative noises every time she inhaled the delicious aroma of each pie.
She helped herself to a slice of meat and seafood, skipping the spicy one entirely.
“Not a spice lover?” he asked as he grabbed a slice of each, while she opened the fridge for a bottle of water. She lifted the glass bottle enquiringly, with a tilt of her head, and he nodded. She immediately picked up a second bottle for him.
“I don’t mind hot food,” she told him as she carried her plate and the two bottles to the glass table in the dining area. “I’ve just had some heartburn these last few days… I don’t want to make it worse.”
“This pregnancy gig sounds fucking awesome,” he said, keeping his tone wry and was rewarded with a light chuckle.
After his dumb comment about Abernathy earlier, he was gratified that he could get that much out of her. And was then instantly confused that he cared.
In fact, he wasn’t even sure why he’d pushed her to eat. He wasn’t her damned keeper, and if she didn’t have the sense to feed herself when she clearly needed to, it wasn’t on him to make sure that she did.
They weren’t really married, he didn’t care… so why had it bothered him when she’d refused to come out of the room earlier?
“Pizza calls for a more casual setting,” he told her, when she pulled a chair from beneath the table. She stopped and looked at him with a curious tilt of her head.
“Patio?” he suggested. “It’s quite mild outside and the sun’ll be setting in about fifteen minutes.”
“Oh yes, please,” she agreed with a smile that lit up her entire face.
Fucken hell… the goddamn sunset would pale in comparison to all that radiance.
The uncharacteristically whimsical thought made him cringe. Christ, he sounded like a lovestruck teen. That would not do at all. What the hell was wrong with him?
He averted his eyes hoping to mask his bewildering reaction.
He led the way to the patio and they were soon sitting—poolside—at the round wrought iron table eating in silence.
Cade watched Fern surreptitiously as her focus remained glued on the fiery orb of the sun as it dipped closer and closer to the horizon, setting both sky and ocean aflame.
The glorious sunset—to which Cade was paying scant attention—bathed her pale features and hair in a warm orange glow. She was so enthralled by the sun’s light show that she barely seemed aware of his presence, giving Cade the freedom stare at her unchecked. Not that he missed the sunset. He caught every moment of it in the changing tones of her skin, the warm shades of oranges and red that caught the silvery highlights in the long tendrils of her hair that were flirtatiously dancing with playful breeze, and he saw—reflected in those soft gray eyes—the very moment the sun surrendered to the sea.
He’d never witnessed a sunset quite like it, and he was staggered to find himself lightheaded and a little disoriented after taking in his first breath in over a minute. He didn’t even realize that he was holding it until his lungs started to burn.
The harsh inhalation startled her into looking at him and he hastily averted his gaze to his plate. He lifted a slice of pizza with a slightly trembling hand and took a bite.