Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“That’s me. The toe keeper.”
Yeah. Willy’s freaking out.
“Hey, Bert, can you take a picture? For posterity’s sake? It’s life changing when the woman of your dreams agrees to be your girlfriend. I don’t have enough pictures of us together, you know?” I pass him my phone, not giving him the chance to say no.
“Uh, sure. Okay,” he says.
I move to stand behind Willy and wrap my arms around her, nuzzling through all her long, wavy hair so I can rest my chin on her shoulder and press my cheek to hers. I’m in heaven.
“Oh my God, is that your dick poking me in the ass?” she asks through gritted teeth.
“Probably. Every part of me is super excited.” I can’t help myself. I kiss her cheek. “Smile for the camera, honey.”
Her nails bite into my forearms, sharp stings that make my entire body sing with absolute fucking delight. Bert takes a bunch of pictures. I switch up the pose and wrap Willy’s arms around my waist. Now my hard-on is inconveniently pressed against her stomach. I rest my chin on top of her head and smile my face off while Bert snaps several more pictures and Willy’s talon nails dig into my back.
Bert passes me my phone.
“Thanks, man.” I clap him on the shoulder. “You’re the best. Can I buy you a beer?” I turn to Willy.
She shakes her head. “Oh, we don’t need to do that.”
“Sweetness, honeycakes, yes we do.” Fake or not, this is a big moment, and I plan to celebrate the hell out of it. More whiskey will not do. Wilhelmina trusted me enough to let me help her out of a bad situation. It’s huge progress. I call over to the bartender. “Marianna, a bottle of your finest champagne. Wills and I need to toast being madly in love. Isn’t that right, angel?” I hug her to my side. “And a beer for Dr. Bert. You’re probably an ultra-light-beer guy, right? Keeping the carbs down?” I point to his flat stomach.
“Oh, thanks, but I, uh…I should go back to the bar.” Bert thumbs over his shoulder and then gives us the thumbs-up. “Congratulations. Wilhelmina’s an amazing woman. You’re a lucky guy.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”
Bert fucks off. I turn back to Marianna, who holds up a bottle of prosecco. “We don’t have champagne, but we have this.”
“Perfect. Pop that baby.”
“You don’t need to do that, Marianna. Dallas is kidding.” Willy tries to push my hand off her shoulder.
I squeeze tighter because Bert can still see us. “Isn’t she so cute? She’s just so damn cute, being all shy about how in love we are.” I hold out my free hand as I approach the bar. “You can just pass me the bottle and the glasses. I’ll do the honors. We’ll tuck ourselves into the cozy table.”
Marianna hands me the prosecco and two wineglasses. I guide Willy to the back corner and pull out a chair. She crosses her arms and glances at the bar, the stools are empty. “Bert is gone. You can stop the charade.”
I pop the cork. “Who says it’s a charade?”
Ever since I was traded to Toronto and Willy came on board, I’ve had to face my biggest fuckup, day in and day out. And I’ve fucked up a lot in my lifetime. But today is a new beginning. Today, she let me help her and didn’t tell me to eat my own dick.
She rolls her big, beautiful brown eyes. They’re the color of extra-dark maple syrup. Her lashes are thick and long, and her eyebrows are expressive and sharply contoured. And then there’s her mouth. Good God, those lips were made for kissing. Among other, less appropriate things. But definitely for kissing.
“Ugh.” She covers my face with her hand. “Stop looking at me like that. It’s weird.”
I cover her hand with mine and barely resist the urge to kiss her knuckles as I remove it. I would not put it past her to lay me out. So I hold back.
Instead, I pour two glasses of prosecco. “Went on four dates with Dr. Bert, huh?”
“Three of them were coffee. One of them was drinks.”
“I was right about the beer, wasn’t I?”
She rolls her eyes. “Close. Vodka and club soda. I’ve been trying to shake him for a couple of weeks, but he’s not great at taking a hint.” I try to hand her a glass. “What are you doing?”
“Celebrating. What does it look like?” I hold up both glasses.
She gives me another one of her looks that makes me hard.
I clink the glasses together. “To progress in our relationship.”
Gracefully, she gets up from the table. “Thanks for the save. If you rub it in my face, I’ll put you on kids’ camp check in with the aggressive parents every year for the rest of your career.” She spins, hair furling in a glorious wave, hips swaying as she heads for the door.