Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Her gaze volleys between the table and me. “A little.”
I extend a hand, hoping like hell that she won’t leave me hanging. She doesn’t. She places hers in it.
“We take this as fast or as slow as you want.” I give her a patient look because that’s how I feel inside.
My goal isn’t to rush her, regardless of how hard I am whenever I’m around her. I admit that Ashley took the buzz out of the moment when she showed up with the bread, but I’m in a state of arousal again just from being in the same room as Carrie.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “I thought I wouldn’t have sex until my birthday, but I want this. I really want this.”
That makes two of us.
“This isn’t a rule, but it’s something we should talk about. We need to be clear about our expectations after we do it,” she says matter-of-factly.
Seeing an opportunity to bring a blush to her beautiful face, I revise her statement slightly. “We need to be clear about what happens after we fuck.”
Mission accomplished. Her hand leaps up in an effort to veil the pink glow that brightens her cheeks, but it’s a fail. “Yes.”
“What do you want to happen after?” I push, curious about how she sees it playing out.
She scratches her forehead. “I have a lot going on at work, and I know you do, too, based on what my sister has said, and then there’s your little girl.”
All of that is true, but I’ve always been able to fit fucking into my schedule, and I’ll do that again now.
Before I can share my thoughts, she’s sharing more of hers. “One time will be enough, and then we can go back to how we were before we agreed to do this.”
One time will not be enough, but I won’t push because I want and need to be her first.
Ashley approaches again, carrying two bowls of something in her hands. I’d detest the interruption, but it’s saving me from having to respond to Carrie’s misguided idea that we’ll only fuck once.
In my perfect world, we’ll have a few very satisfying encounters before we end that part of our relationship. She’ll go her way, and I’ll go mine. Naturally, we’ll cross paths again because of our shared connection to Abby and Declan, but Carrie clearly isn’t looking for something long-term. That’s a vision we both share.
Ashley explains the contents of each bowl. The only word I can pick out is risotto. Carrie is engaged, though, and the results are evident in Ashley’s expression.
She’s enjoying being a part of our first date, and I’ll reward her well at the end of the night in the form of a healthy tip.
Once she’s gone again, Carrie shifts her attention back to me. “Do you have any rules, Rook?”
Wanting to put a smile on her face again, I smirk. “Don’t fall in love with me, Carrie.”
That sends her head back in laughter before she tilts her chin and stares into my eyes. “I have a life plan all worked out, and just so you know, I’m not falling in love until I’m thirty-two, so you’re in the clear.”
“Thirty-two?” I question, picking up the spoon that Ashley placed next to my bowl. “So, marriage comes when?”
“That happens when I’m thirty-four. I’ll have my first baby when I’m thirty-five, and the second depends on how good of a mom I’ll be to the first.”
Surprised by that admission, I smile. “What makes you think you won’t be a good mom to the first?”
She shrugs. “I’ve never been a mom, so I have no data to study on that. I do think that I can see how it feels to be an aunt, and that will give me a broad idea of my skill set in that regard.”
She’s fucking adorable.
If only life were that simple. I had a roadmap, too, but I ditched it years ago when my daughter was born, and I’ve never looked back.
She dips her spoon into the risotto in front of her before she takes a first taste. “This is divine.”
She may be right, but I’d use that word and a million others to describe her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Carrie
I gaze up into his eyes as we stand on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.
Dinner was lovely, and at some point, I started to wish I had taken Rook up on his offer to have dinner at his place.
I was grateful for the distractions Ashley provided initially, but as the night wore on, I started wishing that she’d spend more time with the diners sitting at her other assigned tables.
Although I didn’t see exactly how much of a tip Rook gave her, I know it was a lot because her face lit up when she saw it, and she almost jumped into his arms.
“What is going on in that brilliant mind of yours?” he asks.