Total pages in book: 191
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Or even looking at the messages in the first place.
And that made me feel like a jerk now that I thought about it.
He must have thought I was full of shit because the lines across his forehead creased. “What are you doin’ here? I called Vanny, but she didn’t answer.” Why would she do that? “I called Boog and your sister, and they both laughed and hung up on me when I said I was worried you weren’t home.”
Part of my mouth moved up at that. Of course I was fine. They knew I could take care of myself. And I’d been texting Boogie earlier about Baby Boog stuff.
“I am fine,” I told him, keeping that stupid smile on my face even as I lifted a shoulder. “Just here babysitting the kids. Your friends will probably be here soon, but I’ll stay even if they aren’t.”
Those blue-blue eyes roamed my face, and those creases on his forehead didn’t go anywhere either. “I was worried about you,” he repeated.
And still, I gave him the same face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“You sure?”
I nodded.
“Want me to wait with you ’til they get back?”
“It’s fine. They’re sleeping. I’m sure you need to get your rest,” I told him calmly, maybe even coolly, staring him right into his eyes at the subtle, petty reminder that he hadn’t come home last night because he’d gone out. And stayed out. Which was none of my stupid business.
“I can hang out with you ’til they get back.”
“It’s all right. Probably shouldn’t be talking in there and wake them up. I’m a big girl; I’ll be all right.” That stupid expression still didn’t go anywhere. “Thank you for offering though.”
He hesitated, and something moved across his face. “You sure, kiddo?” he asked softly.
“Positive. Get some sleep. You need it.”
And maybe that was the wrong thing to say, because he definitely frowned then even as he took a step back.
A step back right before I closed the door in his face.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What’s wrong with you?”
Snapping out of the daydream I’d been right in the middle of while standing in front of the refrigerator at Trevor’s house, I glanced over my shoulder to see Zac’s manager sitting at the kitchen island with his computer opened in front of him. He wasn’t looking at me. He was focused on the screen, but it wasn’t like there was someone else he’d been talking to.
I hadn’t even known he was back until he’d come out of his bedroom earlier, talking away on his cell, and set his laptop down on the counter. From the bits and pieces of his conversation that I’d caught onto, he’d made it back at the crack of dawn and had taken a nap. Maybe Zac had known he was coming, but he hadn’t passed the message along to me.
I wanted to think that it was because I’d barely talked to him, but I knew that was only because I’d made it that way.
Just yesterday Boogie had come down to watch Zac’s game with me. We’d gone out to eat afterward, and I’d gone mostly because I didn’t want to alarm either one of them if I tried to bail with some stupid excuse. And also because I knew those two could talk each other’s ears off for hours, so I wouldn’t even really need to pipe in more than I wanted to, and that hadn’t been much. They’d noticed but had accepted me having a lot going on.
I had my mind on a lot of things, including but not limited to the call that had come in the same day as Trevor’s call, confirming that I had my channel back. It was the one, bright shining light in my life at the moment.
Andddd that was negative and pathetic and not true.
I had a lot of bright, shining lights in my life. Just because I got my feelings hurt was my own damn fault, and Zac was still one of the bright, shining lights in it. I wasn’t going to hold it against him that he didn’t feel for me the way I wanted him to. It wasn’t his fault. I wanted to think it wasn’t mine either. You try not to fall in love with Zac.
Anyway.
I was the only one at the house, or so I’d thought. CJ and Zac were both at practice until late, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little bit of a relief that he was gone.
You know, my friend who I was in love with.
But Zac, fortunately, had nothing to do with what had me zoned out in the middle of the gleaming white kitchen that I had finished filming in right before Trevor had busted into the living area, back from New York or Los Angeles or wherever the hell he’d gone.