Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Okay, do you want me to get started on your waffle?”
“Oh, absolutely. I ate a boring salad for lunch, so I’m ready for the good stuff.”
He giggled. “Gosh—same here. I swear it had, like, zero calories. Can I take your briefcase?”
I handed it to him. “Thank you, dear. I’ll go have a seat at our table.”
The place wasn’t too packed at this hour, though our now-permanently reserved table often came in handy. When Joshua and I stopped by, Gael put out the reserved sign in advance before we got here.
Caleb was clearly not here, so I had a seat and figured I could catch up on some messages and emails. I started by replying to Walker’s text. I had to check in on Lucian later as well.
We can’t on Friday. We’ve taken the day off to visit Gettysburg. What about Sunday?
It was so much easier to meet up in the middle of the week.
Partly because I was possessive of my weekends with Gael and Joshua. If we weren’t at Mclean, we were exploring our interests at museums, taking it easy at home, or off on an overnight adventure.
Gael Grimes
I bit my lip and concentrated as I drizzled a hot fudge heart over Daddy’s caramel waffle. This month’s flavor! It was crazy popular. Both my Daddies loved it too. There. Perfect. A good sampler that Dean could munch on until Santiago arrived.
I carried his plate and a cup of coffee over to his table. “Here you go, Sir. Caramel waffle with caramel ice cream, hot fudge, and bacon dust.”
He’d been so skeptical of the bacon dust, but I’d sure won him over! It was fine as flour, almost, and pure salty bacon goodness.
“You know how to seduce me, my love. Thank you.” He unwrapped his utensils from the napkin. “When Daddy gets here, we’ll tell him I only ate a half.”
“Yes, Sir,” I snickered. “I’m gonna go clear my station, take out the trash, and then I’m pretty much done.”
He paused with his fork in midair and glanced up at me. “Okay. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
I laughed. He could totally do that.
I returned to the other side of the counter and helped Kaley and Des shorten the line a bit, and then I did some cleanup around the waffle maker, wiped down the counter, and emptied the bins. I felt like I was walking on air the whole time! It couldn’t be helped. Ever since we’d exchanged I-love-yous a couple weeks ago, I’d been filled with a new sense of purpose. More than that, a concrete belief in us.
I huffed a breath and lugged the big garbage bags through the back room and out into the alley.
Oh gross, it reeked here. I made a mental note to talk to the other two restaurant owners who shared the alley with me. Now that it was spring—even worse when summer arrived later—it was vital that we hosed down the cobblestones every day. Otherwise, we’d have a rat problem on our hands in a matter of days.
I trudged over to the dumpsters and—
“Hi, babe.”
I froze.
“Why are you wearing that, babe? That’s hilarious—it’s way too small for you.”
“Mmm, you should show me some appreciation for giving you a makeover. Maybe a blow job, huh?”
I screwed my eyes shut and shoved Santiago and Dean to the forefront of my mind, where they told me things that never made me feel bad about myself. They wanted me to be happy, they wanted what was best for me, they helped me on my terms, they loved me.
Fucking crap shit, he was back.
I dropped the garbage bag and turned around, just to see another freaking garbage bag.
I’m not scared. I refuse to be afraid of you. You don’t have that hold on me anymore. Loser.
He hadn’t changed much. He still used too much product in his hair, he still tried to cover acne scars with foundation, and his eyes seemingly always flashed with condescension.
It struck me, though, that I’d reacted more to his online presence last time than right now when he was standing literally six feet away from me.
He’d reached out with a message that’d sent cold chills down my spine, and I’d spiraled into a sea of self-loathing and anxiety. Now…I just stared at him. I wondered how the heck I’d ever thought I’d loved him. I hadn’t known what love was.
I wasn’t totally immune to my old discomforts, though. My stomach tightened with unease, and I hated that he was here.
“Have you missed me?” He smiled and took a step forward.
I scrunched my nose and stepped back. “I took you for a stalkery asshole who couldn’t stand being rejected, but I never took you for stupid. No, I haven’t freaking missed you. I moved to the other side of the country to get away from you, in case that wasn’t clear.”