Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66753 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I manage a smile. “Oh, good! I’m so glad. She seems smart.”
“She is,” she assures me. “You for sure got yourself a smarty pants. She knows where we keep the treats already. I’ll hang with Molly while you’re freshening up unless you want her?”
“I do, but if you can hold onto her a few, I’ll give her lots of love before I leave.”
I manage a bit more small talk and then lock myself inside the bedroom. There’s a swell of emotion in the center of my chest and I push off the door and drop onto the mattress and punch in an autodial for my dad. The call goes to voicemail. He’s probably on a date. He’s always out on a date, chasing women. Okay, not chasing them. More like they chase him, like they do Tyler. For all I know, Tyler was keeping his options open with Debbie.
No, I tell myself.
No, he wasn’t doing that.
I cannot deal with the idea of him doing that.
And yet, he’s imprisoned by that will. Have I really left him a choice?
The burn in my eyes pisses me off. I am not crying over Tyler and his list of women. If he thinks being number one on a list of ten makes me feel better, it does not. I can also be objective enough to know that I’m not objective at all right now. I hurry into the bathroom and change into tights to keep me warm, a blue jean skirt, and a cute pink top. I finish off with boots. This is the cowgirl Nashville way.
When I stare in the mirror, I don’t see myself. I’m back in time when I’d gone to Tyler’s office to help him. I’d had this silly moment where I thought I’d sit in his chair to wait on him. It would be me crossing the line between boss and employee and it would set a tone. I wanted to be fucked, it would tell him. It was crazy, yes, but at that moment, I just wanted to touch him again. I didn’t care about the cost.
Turns out, the cost was me seeing the list. Anger had twisted me in knots and I’d sought a confrontation with Tyler. I’d found him in the kitchen, with Debbie all close and intimate with him. I can’t even think about it without it feeling like my insides are on fire.
I force myself to shut down my thoughts. Becker’s expecting me.
And I swear, I want to ink this deal and make it my first on my own.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Bella
I Uber it to the bar.
Not because it’s not drivable because downtown Nashville is not a far drive from my house, but it’s also chaos on the weekends, with loud music and party buses. Parking is a nightmare and roads are closed off near Aldean’s where bars line Broadway like cereal boxes on a grocery shelf. People crowd those few blocks shoulder to shoulder like sardines in a can all smushed together.
The driver drops me on a side street near the bar’s staff entrance, which I can access with one of the VIP passes Hawk Legal holds for performances.
Once I’m on the sidewalk, I begin the short walk toward Aldean’s and check my phone. I tell myself I’m hoping my father will respond, which isn’t wrong, but there’s a stab in my gut when there’s still nothing from Tyler. His silence pushes me to believe he’s made a decision to move on with Debbie, which means he doesn’t deserve more of my fretting. If only it was that easy to shut down my feelings for him.
I’ve just slid my phone back inside my purse when I look up to find a cowboy striding in my direction, his hat low across his face. I frown and try to sidestep his path, but he’s in front of me before I can maneuver far enough to avoid him. He steps in front of me and thumps his hat back. “Becker?” I say incredulously. “What are you doing on the streets of Nashville, especially here? Are you crazy? Do you want to get mobbed?”
“Nobody thinks I’d actually walk around in downtown Nashville, so they aren’t looking for me, plus the entrance is back here anyway. Come on.” He grabs my hand and starts walking.
Guilt over Tyler zig-zags through me at my hand in Becker’s hand, but I’m like luggage being pulled by another human being right now. Becker holds onto me and doesn’t even let me go once we’re inside the bar’s private staff area. He leads me down a hallway and we end up in a dressing room with clothing racks on one wall, a vanity area in the center, a couch, and a small table with two chairs. He shuts the door and there’s a knock that follows, almost as if he shut the door in someone’s face without realizing it. He opens the door and talks to someone before he shuts the door again, and now he’s holding two bags in his hands.