Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“Thanks for stopping by.” I had no idea he lived nearby since I paid him through the production company that I used and had never bumped into him before.
Situations like this reminded me how small the world really was. Something that was proved true with how often I ran into Baylor over the next week. He seemed to be almost everywhere I went. It felt as though the universe was testing the limits of my self-control when it came to him because he used every opportunity to ask me on a date. Including now, in the middle of the produce section at the grocery store.
“Those look juicy.”
My head jerked up at the sound of the now-familiar masculine voice. I would have dropped the grapefruit I held, except Baylor steadied my hand before it slipped from my fingers.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then you should stop sneaking up on me.”
He snatched a grapefruit from the bin and tossed it into the air, catching it with a smirk. “Didn’t realize you were so focused on picking out the perfect piece of fruit and didn’t hear me come up behind you.”
My cheeks heated as I thought about the creative way I’d used a grapefruit in a book I wrote last year. They turned even pinker when I spotted the gleam in Baylor’s brown eyes and wondered if he’d read that blow job scene and was remembering the same thing. It seemed impossible to think that this huge, tough-looking guy who was a member of a motorcycle club actually read romance novels, though. So I shook off my suspicion as I dropped my fruit into a plastic bag before placing it in my basket.
“I guess I better work on my situational awareness,” I muttered.
“You really should. A woman can never be too careful,” he agreed with a nod. “If you want some self-defense pointers, I can help you out with that. I’m even free tonight.”
“Sorry, but no.”
I kept my refusal short because I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from accepting if I said too much.
“That’s okay, baby. I’ll keep working for a yes. You’re more than worth it.”
His parting words stuck with me, making it even more difficult to turn him down the next time he asked. And all of the other times after, too.
3
WIZARD
It had been a very fucking long two weeks since I dropped into Thea’s signing. I’d done my best to convince her to go out with me, but she was proving to be more stubborn than I expected.
I’d even managed to pop in on her when she was out of the house a few times. Of course, I always had an excuse for being there. She’d still avoided agreeing to a date, but I learned more about her every time. I was even more convinced that she was the perfect woman for me. And she was losing steam in her rejections.
Still, my attention was more distracted than she deserved, so I hadn’t pushed any harder.
Tonight, Echo and I were staked out at a hotel, monitoring Ash on his date with Jean. Even though we were in the home stretch, I was in a shitty mood and was taking it out on Ash by being an ass and ribbing him endlessly through our comms. It was stupid, but I was blowing off steam.
When Ash finished giving Jean what she needed to break into his house, Echo had someone rush into the ballroom and tell him that his dad was in the hospital.
Ash managed to play the devastated son perfectly, and as he rushed from the room, I started a slow clap.
Echo rolled his eyes at me. “I’d be gone when he gets here if I were you.”
I grinned and continued helping Echo pack up our shit.
“My dad in the hospital?” Ash scoffed as he stormed into the room, yanking off his bow tie. “You couldn’t have come up with anything better? Do you know how fucking hard it was to pretend I cared?”
Echo shrugged. “Best I could think of to get you out fast while making sure she knew you wouldn’t be home tonight. In an hour, send her a text to check in and let her know you’ll be there for at least twenty-four hours.”
They talked about our plans while I continued to set one of my computers into a special hard case. After Ash had stripped out of his tux and pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, he turned to me with a scathing expression. “You and I need to have a talk, brother. Because if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get your ass handed to you.”
“He’s just trying not to think about the woman who won’t give him the time of day,” Echo answered.