Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
“Like those guys in Armageddon?” I joke.
“Oh God,” he groans. “Yeah, sure. Or There Will Be Blood, but a lot less dark.”
“Not a lot of women on those oil rigs, are there?” I don’t know what possesses me to say that, but the words just sort of slip out of my mouth.
“Not a one,” Liam replies. “Unless you want to come apply for a job. You’re not looking, are you?”
“I am actually,” I say with a heavy sigh. “But that—that’s a whole other discussion. Hey, since you work on an oil rig and all, can’t you just bring some gas over to my car from your work and get going?”
Liam bursts out laughing. I’ve clearly said something stupid.
“Yeah, it doesn’t work like that,” he says. “The oil needs refining before it can be put in your car. We don’t do that at the derrick. We just pump it out of the ground. I’m sorry, Jess, but you won’t be making it home to your fiancé tonight.”
“What?” I ask, confused. “My fiancé?”
Liam shrugs and sort of frowns at me. “Come on,” he says. “All you rich girls always have some rich guy already lined up by your parents. Who is he? A lawyer? A doctor? A dentist?”
My jaw drops. I don’t know whether to laugh or simply be offended.
“Um, none of the above?” I answer.
“Future senator?”
Now I burst out laughing. “Okay, you’re ridiculous. I am single, for your information.”
Liam just nods and chuckles. “I see.”
There’s a pause. I keep my eyes on him, waiting, but he doesn’t do anything.
“And you?” I ask.
He grins. I realize my heart is thumping like a beating drum. “Yeah, same. I haven’t done the girlfriend thing in a long time.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Yeah, just moving around too much, ya know?” he replies. From any other guy, this would sound like a total player line. But Liam sounds like he’s being sincere. “If I make a girl mine, I want her to be mine.”
Despite the AC blasting in my face, I can feel myself getting hot all over again.
4
Liam
I can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed as I pull the truck up to my house and park. Compared to the mansions out on Lake Austin, my place is a servant’s shack—one of those little cabins bored rich guys go to take mushrooms and contemplate why it is they’re so depressed with life or whatever.
I’ve put a bit of money into it over the last few months that I’ve been here, but not a ton. Who knows whether I’ll even be here in six months. Moving around has always been my lot in life.
But now that I’ve run into Jess, this feels like exactly the place I want to be…
“It ain’t much,” I tell her as we exit the truck. “But hey, compared to Lake Austin, what is?”
“Will you quit that?” she asks, eyeing the house.
I can just imagine what it would be like to share this place with her—to come home from work and find her here waiting for me every day. Christ, that would be incredible. If I had her by my side, I would definitely put more money into the place. Spend more time on the renovations I’ve been thinking about.
I’ve just been so used to moving around for work that I’ve been hesitant to really go ahead with what I’ve been planning. But meeting Jess has been like the spark to ignite the fuse that may finally get me going.
That is, if you can keep her with you.
A rich girl like her and a poor guy like me? Christ, I can’t even believe she’s here in the first place. I can’t keep my eyes off her ass in those short shorts as she walks up the steps to the front door.
She turns around and glances back at me.
“Well?” she asks. “You gonna let me in, mister?”
My chest goes tight as I get a full view of her body, twisted like she’s posing for a photo, showing off the sweet lines of her tits and the unreal curves of her shapely, baby-making hips.
Goddamn.
“Yeah, of course,” I reply, moving past her up the steps. I quickly unlock the door for her and let her inside. “Let’s get out of this Texas heat.”
“Do you have AC?” she asks.
“Well, not central air like you Lake Austin peeps,” I tease. “That will come later when I do more renovations.”
“You do them all yourself?” she asks, looking impressed. I sure wouldn’t mind giving her a demonstration of my skills. Or let her come by the derrick and see me hard at work for the day.
“Nah, I am just the star of one of those remodeling reality shows.” I smile.
Jess smiles back, sending a warmth straight to my chest. God, she’s so beautiful. I can’t even imagine how many followers she has on social media. But just the thought makes me instantly jealous.