Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
But the sketches…
They had been sketches of her back, with her hair pulled over one shoulder and the zipper peeled away to reveal her bra and panties. Did a man sketch something like that if he wasn’t interested?
How would she know anymore? It had been so long since she had a man in her bed. The good thing about sexual frustration? If you found a healthy outlet for it, say running your ass off—literally—it wasn’t so bad.
Between running ten miles a day and knitting, Jo had avoided meaningless one-night stands and STDs.
Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing,” the ringtone Meredith had fittingly programmed for herself, interrupted Jo’s running playlist. Jo answered, earphones still in as she slowed and walked into the Chevalier Hotel lobby.
“Hey, Mer.” Jo offered the two staffers at the front desk a warm smile before boarding the elevator and heading up to the penthouse.
“G’morning. How the hell are ya?”
Jo hadn’t had many “girlfriends” through the years, but she enjoyed the easy friendship she and Meredith had developed.
“I’m good. How are Kerris and the girls?”
“Awesome, but Kerris will be a lot better once Walsh is back.”
“I can imagine. Walsh missing the birth…He would have given anything to be here.”
“Seems like he’s been missing a lot lately.”
Jo frowned up at the ascending numbers in the elevator.
“What’s that mean?”
“Just that every time I’ve talked to Kerris lately, Walsh has been working or out of town. I just hope he’ll slow down long enough to enjoy his new babies.”
“Well, of course he will.” Jo’s hackles raised an inch or two in her cousin’s defense. “You do understand that Uncle Martin had a heart attack? Walsh is under tremendous pressure from the board to keep investors and shareholders confident Bennett Enterprises won’t skip a beat until his father returns.”
“Don’t get defensive.”
“I’m not, I just think it’s hard for you to grasp—”
“Rich people’s problems?” Meredith’s drawl dripped sarcasm. “So I’m poor and dumb?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Jo took her time walking to Etinette’s suite door. “I’m just saying Walsh has a lot going on.”
“Is anything more important than those two baby girls? Than Kerris?”
“No, of course not.” Jo blew out a ragged breath, part frustration, part exertion from her run. “Just let up on Walsh. He’s trying his best.”
“You will always defend those guys ’til the end, won’t you?”
“Guys?”
“Walsh and Cam.” Meredith let out a little gasp on the other end. “Wait! You stayed at the hotel. You and Cam finally shared a bed last night?”
“We did not share a bed.” Jo rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall, in no hurry to see little Miss La Vie en Rose this early. “We didn’t even share a bedroom.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I…Well, I’m not.” Jo pushed away from the wall, preferring Frenchie over Meredith’s interrogation after all. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours when I come to the hospital.”
“Will you pay for my doctor’s bill? You just gave me whiplash with that subject change. You can hide it from Cam, but you don’t have to hide it from me. That’s what friends are for.”
“Oh, friends dole out advice loosely based on cheesy Dionne Warwick songs?”
“You can run, but you can’t hide.”
“I’m sure that’s a song, too.” Jo used the keycard Cam had left on the counter for her to open the door. “I’ll talk to you later. Have something original to say.”
“Once you and Cam do the nasty, I’ll have lots original to say.”
Jo caught herself from tripping over her own feet. Cam stood in the kitchen in hanging-low-on-the-hips sweats and a T-shirt with FRENCH ME stretched across the muscles of his chest. His grin reassured her Meredith’s big-mouth voice hadn’t carried.
“Gotta go. See you later at the hospital.”
Cam dipped a thick slice of bread in the egg mixture and placed it on a sizzling skittle.
“Good run?” He kept one eye on the toast while he started whisking eggs.
Jo laid her cell and earphones on the counter, settling onto the leather stool.
“Pretty good. I love running in New York.”
“What are you up to now?”
“About ten miles a day.”
“Wow. Well, you look amazing.” He didn’t look away from the eggs he was salting and peppering. “I mean, you’ve always looked amazing. I can just tell—”
“I know what you mean.” She kept her eyes as careful as the slow sip she took of the steaming coffee he’d set in front of her. “Did you sleep well?”
He paused in his whisking but didn’t look up. He poured the eggs into the pan before answering.
“Yeah. I slept fine. I wanted to sketch some and didn’t want to disturb Etty, so I just took the couch.”
As badly as Jo wanted to ask him about the sketches of her she had seen, she didn’t. He held tension in his broad shoulders, as if braced for her next question.
“So how long are you here in New York, Cam?”