Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "And thank you for what you did for me. It was more than I deserved."
"You're welcome," I said. “You're also forgiven, but I never want to hear you say shit like that again, do you hear me?"
Lex was clearly confused by my statement, so I added, "You deserved it and more. You deserve everything, Lex."
A heavy silence fell between us and I found myself leaning even farther across the console, my eyes shifting from Lex's beautiful gray ones to his full, parted mouth. Nervous energy buzzed beneath my skin as I accepted that this was what I wanted, what I needed.
A taste of Lex.
My lips were just inches from an unknowing Lex's when Brewer let out a loud bark. I jerked back, hitting the steering wheel with my arm in the process. I bit back a curse as I straightened in my seat and looked around. There was a car coming up behind us. I’d pulled off to the side of the road, so the vehicle went around us. I recognized the driver as Mrs. Goldfinch, one of the town’s biggest gossips. Not surprisingly, she pulled her old Buick sedan to a stop next to my truck so I was forced to roll down the window.
"Is that you, Mouse?"
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Goldfinch," I stammered. My adrenaline was rushing through my blood as I tried to come down from the rush of nearly kissing Lex.
"Mr. Goldfinch said he saw you in aisle seven down at Merv's." The woman raised her eyebrows at me. As hard as I'd worked to get the people of Fisher Cove to stay out of my business, there were a handful of older residents who’d never quite gotten the message and still saw me as the little kid they'd watched grow up so many years earlier.
"I'm sure he was mistaken," I responded. I began rolling up the window in hopes of sending her a hint. She didn't get it.
"Who have you got there with you?" she asked.
Thankfully, a car pulling up behind us was all the distraction I needed. "Looks like we better get moving. Don't want to block traffic."
Of course, Mrs. Goldfinch did nothing more than glance in her rearview mirror before saying, "Oh no, dear, that's just Edna. She'll keep. Now who'd you say you had with you, Mouse?"
"Okay, gotta go, bye," I said in a rush as I rolled the window up and put the truck back into gear. I pulled ahead of Mrs. Goldfinch’s sedan and then glanced in my rearview mirror. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Goldfinch was already out of her car and walking toward the vehicle behind hers. No doubt to update Edna Wingate about my trip to aisle seven as well as to share the gossip about the mysterious stranger in my truck.
I glanced at Lex, intending to apologize for not having introduced him to the old biddy, but when I saw him looking at me with a huge grin on his face, I forgot what I wanted to say. He looked so light and free and downright happy that I just wanted to take a mental picture and hang on to it for as long as I could.
"What?" I finally said to him when he continued to grin like a fool.
"So what's in aisle seven… Mouse?”
Chapter Nine
Lex
What I wouldn't have given to be able to see his face when I called him Mouse. As I waited for him to respond, I belatedly realized that I probably wasn't in any position to make fun of what I assumed was a nickname. Admittedly, I would have gladly grabbed onto anything that could have potentially changed the mood in the cab of the truck, but maybe I was going too far. I was beyond humiliated to have admitted what Grady had done to me and how stupid I’d been for having fallen for it in the first place. I hadn't meant to go into so much detail, but when Gideon had pressed me, I’d found it surprisingly easy to tell him about the first and only time I'd given my heart to someone.
I opened my mouth to apologize for yet another fumble on my part, but when I heard Gideon growl "Jesus Fucking Christ" in exasperation, I felt a little more at ease. Maybe I hadn't overstepped.
"I have to know," I said. I felt emotionally drained, so having this moment of lightness between us felt like a good way to get back on track. Gideon had said he’d forgiven me for my behavior, but I most certainly didn't want to risk screwing up our tentative friendship—if you could even call it that—again.
Gideon let out a long sigh and said, "It was the summer before I turned eighteen. I was crazy for music and was in a classic rock phase. I’d always been particularly fascinated with The Stones. Mick Jagger was my personal hero. Anyway, that year they were kicking off their No Security tour. I had this friend who’d scored an extra ticket to their concert in Tampa. I spent my entire savings paying for the ticket but I didn’t have anything left over to actually get me to Florida. So I begged my grandparents to take me. I told them since the concert was the following March, they could make a vacation out of it and I’d finally get to see my idol, Mick. I had this dream of Mick pulling me on stage to sing with him.”