Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I stiffen at her side, and she steps a little closer. “If it’s a group thing, I’m in. Otherwise, I’m actually seeing someone.” She smiles up at me, and fuck me, that smile of hers is addictive.
“Really?” Mason seems surprised.
Is he fucking blind? Does he not see me standing here with my arm around her? Even more so, does he see her? She’s a fucking knockout. I’m shocked she’s giving me the time of day.
“It’s new, but yeah.” Blakely shrugs as if to say, “What do you do?”
“Fair enough,” Mason replies. He moves his gaze to me. “I’ll be waiting for when you mess up.” He chuckles before turning and walking away.
I move to go after him… to say what? She’s mine? You can’t have her? That’s not true. If I’m being honest with myself, she’s probably better off with someone like Mason. He’s her age, and he more than likely has not sworn off commitment. He’s probably the better choice, but fuck, I’m a selfish bastard where she’s concerned, and I want my time. I want as much as she’ll give me until someone like Mason succeeds in stealing her away.
“He’s cocky,” Blakely says, seeing that I’m still staring daggers at Mason’s retreating form. “He’s a player, and he knows I’d never date him. He tried all through high school, and it was a pass from me, and even if you weren’t standing here, acting like a raging bull ready for a fight, it would have still been a no.”
“A raging bull?” I huff. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” She turns, sliding her hand under my coat and placing it over my chest. “Your heart is racing.”
“It’s beating to keep me alive,” I retort.
She rolls those beautiful eyes. “You’re the doctor.”
I can’t help it. I smile. “Let’s go somewhere you can eat.”
“How about your car? It’s still warm-ish, right?”
“We can go inside.”
“Are we ready for that, though? For everyone to see that you brought me dinner?” She chews on her bottom lip as if she’s nervous for my answer.
“I just told Mason I did. He works here. And you just kissed my cheek, and I’m holding you. We can’t hide this, Blake, and I don’t want to.”
She waves me off. “Mason doesn’t count.”
“Do you want to hide this, Blake? I get not telling your family on Friday, but we spent all damn weekend together. I can still taste your soft lips.” I trace my thumb across said lips.
“I just…. You said you didn’t want this to be anything permanent. Is it worth telling everyone when we’re not sure where it’s going?”
“I won’t hide you. There’s no rule against us seeing each other.”
“I know. I looked.” She grins. “I was just trying to save us the hassle of telling everyone this”—she waves her hand between our bodies—“is over.”
“Not hiding.”
“Oh no, I brought back grumpy Ollie.” She chuckles.
“Come on, you.” I take her hand in mine and lead her into the building. There are a couple of small chairs in the entry, and I guide her there so we can eat our dinner. I don’t give a fuck who sees us. We’re both adults. I’m not sneaking around. Sure, I get what she’s saying, but I’m not hiding. It’s not my style, and besides, it feels like cheating, like we’re doing something wrong, and that’s not who I am. We’re either in this together, out in the open, or we walk away now.
Knots form in my stomach. I’m not ready to walk away from her, but I won’t be a dirty little secret either. What you see is what you get. We’ll deal with what comes with that as we need to.
I pass her the container and a bottle of water from the bag. Our little table is at max capacity, but we’re making it work. I open my mouth to ask her if there is anything I can do when someone calls her name.
She turns and smiles. “Hey, Uncle Brooks.” She stands and gives him a hug.
“Whatcha doing?” he asks. His eyes quickly flash my way before going back to Blakely.
“We’re having dinner before the ceremony. You know Dr. Thompson, right? He’s agreed to fill in for Dr. Anderson, whose wife went into labor.”
“Right.” Brooks Kincaid pulls his hand out of his scrub pocket and offers it to me. I take it. “Nice to officially meet you. I’m a nurse in the ER,” he explains.
“Nice to meet you.”
“What are you having?” Brooks asks.
“Beef and noodles from the diner,” she answers.
“Sounds good. Maybe I’ll see if Palmer wants me to swing by and pick that up for dinner tonight.”
“Are you heading home?”
“I am. I just needed to run some samples to the lab. I was on my way back through when I saw you sitting here.”
“Are you all coming to the ceremony tonight?”
“No. Leo has basketball practice, and Palmer has a late shoot at the studio.”