Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Does this violate our PDA rule? Probably not. We’re all alone back here. And these are friendly touches. “Aubrey,” he says, stern.
I sit up straighter, feeling trapped. I can’t just say I didn’t love it. I’d sound ungrateful.
Nerves prickle inside me. I’m about to tell them once more that I’m fine, but the words stop before they make landfall. I should have said something sooner about Aiden. To someone. My friends, my brother, my mom.
I take a deep breath. “I didn’t love it,” I admit.
Dev smiles affectionately. “Good.”
“Why is that good?” I ask, still feeling out of sorts.
“Because it’s good that you’re honest with us. We want to know. We don’t want you doing things you don’t like.”
“You mean in bed?” I ask.
“Well, yes. Of course. But I meant in general,” Dev adds.
I pause, take my time, then speak from the heart again. “I’m glad I did it. I like to try new things. But it wasn’t what I thought it’d be.”
“That happens,” Dev says casually.
“Good thing you tried it,” Ledger adds.
There. I said it and the sky didn’t fall. They’re not walking away. They’re not annoyed with me. They’re all good. I take another breath, letting it fill me with confidence. With courage too. “And I’m glad you insisted I tell you.”
“Me too,” Dev says, with a genuine smile. Like he really wants to know my true heart.
These guys are doing so much for me. They’re going where I want to go. They’re doing what I want to do.
I desperately want to do something for them.
On the way out, we walk through the winery’s gift shop, where I spot a postcard on the counter. I tell the guys I’ll meet them at the car. We’re heading to a ghost town next.
But even as I buy the postcard, it hardly feels like enough. I tuck it away in my canvas bag unsure if I’ll give it to Dev or not.
31
THE NICE MAN
Aubrey
I’m chased by those thoughts as we explore a nearby mining town. Is this what they want—to be traipsing around a small town on a replacement honeymoon? Just because I had a room reserved?
Is this even fun for them?
Maybe Ledger’s having a good time. He can’t seem to get enough of the history of this ghost town. He’s reading all the plaques in the museum as we check it out, then chatting with the tour guide who takes us through the tiny town, showing us creaky old cabins where miners once lived, then the local watering hole.
“This was once a saloon,” the grizzled guide says before he swings open the twin doors of the erstwhile bar, taking us into the abandoned establishment. “A lot of folks think California was the only gold rush territory, but we had plenty of mining here too.”
But do my guys even want to be here? Would they rather be someplace else? What’s on their dream list? Well, besides National Grilled Cheese Day for Dev. Maybe I’ll ask them later, because right now Ledger seems happy enough.
As Ledger launches into his reporter’s list of questions about the town, Dev and I take that as a cue to wander a bit, checking out the old wooden bar, a piano that doesn’t work in the corner, and a sign for the outhouse out back.
Is he happy enough?
I’m about to ask, but he’s faster to the question draw. “So, this is another Aubrey thing?” Dev asks as we survey some old mining equipment outside the bar.
“I’m a little obsessed with ghost towns,” I admit. “I loved visiting them in California on family trips when I was a kid. Garrett hated them. Maybe that’s another reason I liked them. Vexing my brother.”
“A damn good reason,” Dev says, then stares off in the distance at the train tracks several hundred yards away. “See, I think you’ve got a traveler’s heart.”
I feel a little giddy from the comment, from the way he seems to see me. “You do?”
“You like adventure. You like trying different things. You’re not afraid. I think it’s just who you are.”
I seize the chance to understand him better too. “And who are you?”
With a playful grin, he says, “You tell me.”
It’s said like he wants me to know him. He folds his arms, waiting, with a tease of a grin. I study him, thinking about his Daily Dose of Good. His genuine affection for people. But his superstitions too. “You like learning things and seeking the positive. You like understanding the world. You want everything to go well though,” I say, and…wow. I might as well be looking into the mirror.
“Yeah, I do,” he says. “I really want this trip to go well for you.” Then he leans closer, his voice husky. “In and out of bed.”
“Spoiler alert: it is going well,” I say, feeling a little tingly from the compliment, but also how he’s managed to weave one in so seamlessly.