Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Maybe Maddox has realized that too … and he’s interested in her.
I gulp. That can’t be right, can it?
He did ask about her …
What do I care?
“Now for the good stuff.” Sara lowers herself onto the sofa beside me. “We had some great applicants.”
My stomach wobbles. “Are you going to let me see any of them?”
“We talked about this, and we’d rather you be surprised,” Rebecca says. “But because we know you’re a worrier, we thought we’d let you see some of the names in the hat to make you a little less anxious. At least you’ll know we picked from a good crop.”
“Okay. That’s fair.”
Sara digs into the tote bag and pulls out a folder. She hands it to me.
“Here,” she says. “Becca and I weeded out the weirdos and these are some of the guys who were left in the running.”
The blue folder is thick—much thicker than I anticipated. I glance up at Sara.
She shrugs. “We had two apply with a video.”
“And they were ruled out immediately. Don’t ask why,” Rebecca says, pretending not to hurl.
My eyes go wide.
“Go ahead and flip through those if you want,” Sara says. “Your lothario might be in there, and he might not. We won’t tell you.”
My hand trembles as I open the front cover. Staring back at me is the face of a guy who I went to college with.
“Henry applied?” I laugh. “He was in my communications class my freshman year of college. I forgot he existed.”
“According to that application, he didn’t forget you,” Rebecca says.
Flipping through the pages, my anxiousness eases and, in its place, is excitement. Some applications, so to speak, are formatted like an employment résumé. Others read like a letter. There’s a poem and a Haiku.
There are guys I grew up with, men I’ve worked with, previous clients, and even a guy who used to cut and color my hair. He was the best.
“All of these people could actually go on such short notice?” I ask. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“The guy we chose certainly could,” Sara says. “I mean, you did put it in the post.”
“Yeah, but they probably thought it was a joke. Not everyone can just go … like … that.” I lift my gaze to Sara’s. “Jess Carmichael applied?”
My voice is squeaky as I utter his name.
Sara licks her lips. “Keep going, baby.”
“I feel like I need a minute here.” I laugh in disbelief. “I mean, he’s freaking gorgeous. I just saw him a few days ago, and I think you could get pregnant if you looked at him too long.”
My friends laugh.
“But I can’t go on a honeymoon with Maddox’s brother. It would be weird.”
“Flip the page,” Rebecca says.
I swallow. “Why?”
“Flip. The. Page,” Rebecca says, smiling.
I lift the corner of Jess’s one-page sales pitch and burst out laughing. “Banks? You have to be kidding me.” I turn another page of the stack that is stapled together. “What are these pictures? Is he really shirtless with a wrench?”
Sara giggles. “He literally sent a PowerPoint presentation. It had his sister’s name on it, so I think he had help.”
“This is hilarious.” I turn the sheet around and am overcome with laughter again. “He’s lying shirtless on the hood of a freaking car. What the hell?”
Rebecca fans her face. “I call dibs on that printout. I’ll just make that clear now. I haven’t had a boyfriend in far too long.”
“Oh, you can have it,” I say. “He’s such a dork. I love that he did this, though.”
Sara hums. “Can you imagine that man all wet and sandy? His abs glistening in the sunlight. His hands, all rough from the engines and whatever cars have, sliding oil all over your back and legs?” She shivers. “Maybe I will go in your place. Fuck my job.”
I lean back and laugh. “I’m sure Banks would go with you wherever you would like.” And maybe Maddox.
I stifle a groan.
My friends get into a verbal sparring match over who is the best catch—either Jess or Banks Carmichael. I don’t get involved because my answer wouldn’t be either one of them.
Even though Maddox is not the perfect match for me, and even though he’ll probably never settle down at all, he would make a great catch for someone.
My heart tugs a bit that his name wasn’t in this pile. I hadn’t even realized that I’d started to hope that his application would be next after seeing his brothers.
I set the papers on my lap. “I have to say—you guys actually have some good choices here.” I sort back through the papers again, trying to convince myself that I’m not looking for Maddox’s name. Why bother? It’s not realistic anyway.
“Just know that I’m prepared to take this trip all by myself. If your pick doesn’t show up, it’s not the end of the world,” I say, trying to tamper my excitement at this whole charade.