Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I texted her, asking her to call me back, and added that it was important to see if that would improve my chances. It was important. I needed to make sure she was okay. I needed to know she wasn’t under some pervert’s thumb.
Almost immediately after I sent the text, my phone rang, and I answered it before I could read Christie’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, you called?”
My heart thumped, and questions swarmed my mind. Whatever we had between us, I wanted to explore. I wanted to hear her say what she felt for me.
“Yeah, I did. Are you in your room?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your room number?”
She didn’t respond as quickly, but I knew not to pressure her to speak. She was likely in defense mode, so I needed to be gentle with what I chose to say. “Why?”
“I want to see you. Can I come over?”
“Why?”
I tried to laugh, but it came off as more of a nervous chuckle that faded into a weird breath. “I want to talk about a few things.”
After another moment of silence, she told me her room number.
“I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” I said and hung up.
I rushed down the stairs and through my crew, unloading the trucks.
“Hey, boss!” one of them called.
“Mrs. O’Malley says her sister-in-law needs a lawn service …”
“Great, set it up,” I said and gave a wave as I went straight for my truck, too focused on getting to Christie to fully notice how great it felt to delegate.
When I got to her hotel room and knocked, I tried to breathe deeply so I wouldn’t be so gaspy when she answered.
The door opened slowly, and a mess of brown hair and light-brown eyes met me at the threshold. My heart sank as I tried to figure out whether she was sad or tired, my instinct leaning toward the former. Christie welcomed me in, and I heard a faint sniffle as she entered her bathroom to blow her nose. Maybe she was just sick, I thought, but a part of me knew she wasn’t just battling bad sinuses.
I made myself at home on the bed, dropping my shoes to the floor and lying flat on my back on the perfectly made bed. Christie’s smell permeated the stale air, and I inhaled it deeply, the sweet, floral scent burying me in a cloud of warmth.
“So what’s up?” Christie asked, emerging from the bathroom. Her eyes were still puffy, but her hair looked a little tamer. It fell below her shoulders in loose waves that covered the straps on her tank top. It was cute, actually, how her bright-red top settled loosely around her frame, barely leaving room for her dark-blue shorts to peek through.
“You’re dressed for bedtime.”
“Yeah?”
“How about lunch instead?”
With a piece of toilet paper Christie had taken from the bathroom, she wiped under her eyes, her mouth open in what looked like a yawn as she slowly moved the paper under her eyelid. She looked at what she’d captured before answering. “I’m busy.”
My amusement turned into a flat comeback. “Busy sleeping?”
“Busy preparing.”
“I wanted to ask you about that,” I said, rising to my feet. She took a step back, and it took everything in me not to jump at her to prove I wasn’t some germ. “Did you really accept that job?”
“Why?”
When I took a step toward her, either she didn’t catch it or didn’t care. “Because I don’t want you to put yourself in a situation you’ll regret.”
“Well, this morning was my first meeting, and it went fine. So thanks for your concern, but I don’t need it.”
“Don’t you, though?”
“Why the hell would I?” Her hot glare shut my mouth quickly.
“That came out wrong. I’m sorry.” She just shook her head and threw the toilet paper in the bin beside her. “I just mean that we left each other in a bad place, and I know that’s not where I want to be. Do you?”
“You showed your true colors. I can’t help that.”
“You know that’s not true. Christie, you know that isn’t who I am.”
“Do I?” Her body stiffened like a twig, ready to break apart at the slightest hint of pressure. I didn’t want to watch her fall apart, and I didn’t want to be the reason for it. “You wanted to sue her. Does she know about that?”
“She does, and because of what you said, I had already decided I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it in the first place.”
“Then why did you even think about it.”
“Because I was scared!” Christie froze, though I wasn’t sure whether it was because of my tone or my truth.
I exhaled slowly and took another step toward her, but she shied away and chose the only chair in the room by the desk near the window. I sat on the bed as close to her as I could, willing her to give me that chance to explain. “Christie, I thought she was going to take him. I listened to the wrong person and thought she would make moves to take him away from me. Permanently.”