Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Now why did that give me shivers? “Interesting. So you don’t use your charm?”
He laughed outright at that. “No one who knows me has ever accused me of having charm.” He leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile. “I think you bring it out of me.
Oh boy. “I don’t know what to say to that.” My heart fluttered in my chest and my belly was doing backflips.
“And here I thought there was only one way to stun you into silence.”
His words shocked me. Then they turned me on. “Lee.”
“Don’t say my name like that in public, Nix.”
Oh, this was fun! “Like what, Lee?”
He growled and grabbed the box of ornaments, tossing them on the tree haphazardly.
“What are you doing?” I barely got the question out through my laughter.
“Decorating the damn tree, what does it look like?”
“Um, like a tornado blew through the place?”
“Your fault,” he growled and finished the tree in record time, using every last ornament, garland and tinsel in the box.
Unsurprisingly, we didn’t win. “Congratulations to the Mason Twins for their unique tree. To the rest of you, better luck next year,” Wallace said, giving our tree major side eye.
Lee grabbed my hand and led me out of the park. “Can we get out of here and talk?” He was already pulling me before I answered.
“Sure. Where?” I was all smiles and my heart fluttered as I waited anxiously for his answer. Did he want to go back to my place or his place and get naked? Did he want to talk? Or did he just want to clear the air?
A grin split his face. “Definitely not your place or mine. I’d like to talk first.”
First. That meant he still wanted me, just not now. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
“You. Me. Us.” He grabbed my hands in his and looked around before his lips found mine. The kiss was hot and tender, I felt aroused and cherished at the same time. When Lee pulled back my breath caught in my throat. “I’ve missed those lips.”
“They’ve missed you too.” I hummed my pleasure at his taste and his words. “You wanted to talk?”
“Yeah,” he growled and put a few feet of distance between us without releasing my hand. “Talk. I think we should give us a chance. A real chance.”
I wanted that too, more than I even let myself admit. “And just forget the rest?”
He nodded. “At least it until we’re forced to deal with it. My aunt used to tell me I excelled at borrowing trouble and for the first time in my life, I don’t want to. I’ll pay the bill it when it arrives.”
“So we go into this with our eyes wide open but we hope for the best?” That wasn’t exactly my style of doing things but I had a feeling it was new to Lee as well.
“Something like that. All I know is that I want to know more about you and spend more time with you, laughing and talking and fucking.”
That’s all I wanted too. “Okay then, I’m in. Let’s spend now and worry about the bill later.”
Lee’s lips twitched and then a stunning smile broke free. “Perfect. Now I just have one more question.”
My brows rose and my own smile broke, wide and excited. “Your place or mine?”
I nodded. “Yes. Either. Both.”
Lee seemed more than satisfied by my answer as he took me by the hand and dragged me to his luxury SUV without another word.
Chapter 12
Lee
“This place is…wow.” Nix looked around the foyer with a wide-eyed expression that only intensified as we moved deeper into the house. She stopped in the living room and smiled at me over her shoulder. “This is a lot of room for one man.”
I shrugged off the question. “When he’s free, Mac stays here. Mostly I just like my space.”
“No kidding.” She ran her hand along the sofa, the framed artwork and the floor vases. “It’s all very beautiful and tasteful.”
I heard the reproach in her tone and frowned. “But?” The decorator had followed my specifications exactly. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s not about liking or not liking, everything is nice. This place just doesn’t feel like the Lee I know, that’s all.”
I wasn’t sure how to address that. “It’s not cold and stiff and formal?”
“No, it is. This place is what I expect a decorator to do for a guy like you but there’s no traces of you in here. You and Mac are close, where are the photos of you growing up? Your aunt and uncle? Just gorgeous, pricey artwork.”
I gave her words careful consideration. They weren’t a criticism as I originally thought but just a keen observation. “I guess you’re right. I never gave it much thought.”
She laughed. “I’ll bet your office is a better reflection of you as a person,” she teased.