Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“What? No. It’s not that at all.”
“Or are you just using me because I can help you get back at Vaughn and his dad?”
Maybe. “No. I’ve been open with you from the start, Charli. We both want to get those pricks back. It’s a bonus that I like you. It’s a bonus that your book is great and I want to publish it. It’s a bonus that you like me.”
“I never said I like you.”
I give her plastic cup a little knock with mine. “You don’t have to.”
There’s that blush again. “I don’t want to like anyone right now.”
“What are you worried about?”
“I don’t want to get hurt again.”
“Then I can promise you this much. I would never hurt you.”
Her eyes finally meet mine. She studies me for several long seconds, and I’m struck by an overwhelming urge to kiss her. It’s clearly not the moment, so I take a sip of my drink instead. The sound of my shake slurping up the straw makes her break eye contact and laugh.
Her smile is a thing of beauty. In that moment, I think I could throw everything I’ve worked for away and spend the rest of my life chasing those fucking smiles.
“I believe you,” she says.
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” I say. “Me and you take some time tonight to get to know each other. I know I promised I’d try to seduce you and all that, but my plans have changed. Not because I don’t want that, but because I only want it when you’re ready. And I can tell you’re not ready. So you can put your guard down.” I hold my palms up. “I’m going to stop trying to sleep with you. At least for tonight.”
“How chivalrous of you.”
“I can be chivalrous if I try. Hell, you could say I’ve been a knight in shining armor for you. You couldn’t figure out how to open a door and I rode in to your rescue.”
“You were the one who told me it was push, not pull?”
I puff up my chest. “That’s right. It was me.”
“My hero,” she laughs. She puts her hand on my arm, then pulls it back a little too quickly.
“So you said you have a sister?” I ask.
“I do. Dani is my older sister. People are always surprised we’re related because we look nothing alike. She’s red haired and blue eyed. I’m… this,” she says, gesturing to herself.
I do a chef’s kiss, grinning. “This is great, by the way.”
She chews the corner of her lip. “And my little sister, Maddie, is sixteen. She’s going through some kind of phase, but she’s really sweet once you get past how she’s trying to come off. My last sibling is Troy. He’s thirty-four and he used to compete in these strongman competitions. He doesn’t do that anymore, but he could probably still rip a door off its hinges. And he’s kind of super protective.”
“Yet Vaughn is still breathing?”
“I haven’t exactly told him the truth about the breakup. I don’t want Troy to wind up in jail. Right now, my family knows it’s over, but they think we just drifted apart.”
“Anyone know the truth?”
“Just you and Dani. I usually tell my friends everything, but they’re both out of town right now for a girl’s trip. I canceled on them at the last minute so I could go to the convention in Arizona. I’m really not looking forward to telling them, though. I’ve been fibbing when they text for updates because I know everybody is just going to say they told me so.”
“From where I’m sitting, I’d say your abundant ability to trust a scumbag shows how kind you are. And that’s a good thing.”
“I’m sure that has nothing to do with you being exactly the kind of guy women probably never trust?”
“Nothing at all,” I say, smirking.
“What about you?” she asks. “Only child? Or are there other Wolfes running around out there.” She makes a show of shuddering, as if the thought is terrifying.
“Two. Cleo and Kate are my sisters. Cleo is an esthetician. It’s like a makeup artist, sort of.”
“I know what it is,” Charli says with a half smile.
“Oh. Yeah, well that’s Cleo. She’s twenty-six. Or maybe she’s twenty-seven, now, actually. And then Kate is finishing her legal degree. She works as an intern when she’s not in class. She’s always busy as hell. She’s twenty-two.”
“Are you and your sisters close?”
“Somewhat. I was already finishing high school when they were starting elementary. I think I was more like a shitty dad to them than a brother.”
“Oh, come on. I bet you weren’t shitty.”
I shrug. “Shitty in the sense that I probably let them get away with way more than I should’ve. We were always racing shopping carts and crashing into bushes. Sometimes we’d all pile on my skateboard and go downhill, dodging traffic until we dented a car and had to run for it.”