Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
It’s slower, softer, with her eyes locked on mine as she takes her first turn on top of me. And as her hands brace on my chest and her hips rock into me with a sensual rhythm that mimics the rise and fall of the sea, I know I’m losing something.
Something important.
I’ve never let my defenses fall like this. I’ve never dropped my guard or let anyone so deep into the secret places inside. But with Sully…
I have no choice.
She shows up with an authenticity that’s humbling in its bravery. How can I do anything less? Anything less than a fearless woman like her deserves?
You’re going to fall in love with her, the inner voice warns as we lie together after, her cheek resting over my heart.
Love…
I’m not sure I even know what it is.
But if I spend much more time with this incredible woman, I have a feeling I’m going to find out.
chapter 13
GERTIE
Four days later…
Come Friday night, our Halloween book club is even more festive than usual.
Elaina made creepy sugar cookies to go along with the Young Adult horror novel she consented to read—even though it didn’t have any sex and relatively little romance compared to our usual selections—and Sydney joins us via Zoom for the first part of the evening. She just visited ten days ago, so she couldn’t make it back to town for the party, but having her here via laptop is better than nothing.
Her boyfriend, Gideon, also makes an appearance at the end to share his thoughts on the story. He read it because Sydney was reading it, and he wanted to be able to discuss it with her.
How adorable is that?
Very adorable. And Gideon makes Sydney so happy. She’s glowing with excitement for the new chapter in her life and already loving her new job at Gideon’s real estate development firm in Burlington. I can’t imagine most of the couples I know wanting to work together and live together, but Gideon and Sydney are clearly loving every second of their twenty-four seven life together.
After book talk and saying goodbye to the lovebirds, we dress the cats in their costumes and I take hundreds of pictures, while Maya and Elaina giggle and the cats shoot us looks that would foretell our doom if they had opposable thumbs and the ability to hold a weapon.
Maybe is the only feline who seems to enjoy his costume, a cozy lobster suit complete with giant claws bobbing around in the front. He dashes around the closed café, pouncing on the pinchers and rolling over to bat at them with his paws, purring the entire time.
“Get a shot of Pudge and me, will you, Gertie?” Maya asks, cuddling the giant orange tabby she finally adopted last month, after being in love with him for ages.
Pudge is dressed as a bat, and Maya is Lady Dracula, complete with fangs she pops in to grin for the camera as they cuddle on the couch. Pudge, as usual, is a sweet beast. Though he clearly isn’t happy with his bat wings—he’s been trying to rub them off against the wall for the past ten minutes—he adores Maya. He consents to several portrait shots, including one where he’s perched on Maya’s shoulder, before wiggling to be set free.
Maya sighs happily as she watches him waddle toward the catnip toys, her cheeks pink from the warmth in the café and two Imaginary Fiend cocktails. Elaina invented the rum-based drink to go along with the book about killer imaginary friends, but I stuck to cinnamon tea with my cookies.
Weaver made plans for us in Saint Mary at eight, and I want to be sure I’m still awake for our first night out on the town. I convinced Gramps to leave at five a.m. this morning instead of four, since I had plans for Halloween night and wanted to stay up late, but I’ll still be asleep by nine if I start drinking too soon. I’m not a lightweight, but alcohol makes me way sleepier than it used to.
It’s another sign that I’m a full-blown adult…along with the suitcase waiting by the back door.
I’m going on a romantic weekend getaway for the first time in my entire life!
Weaver seems as excited about it as I am. Last night, while we were eating strawberries and whipped cream after working up an appetite in his bed, he expressed how pleased he was to be the first man to take me on a trip, even if it is only to a hotel a few towns over.
The exact details of what we’re doing are a surprise, but he insisted he was going to give me “a weekend you’ll never forget,” and then he did things with the whipped cream and his tongue that I’ll also never forget.
I’m never going to forget a second of my time with Weaver. A part of me is already dreading our inevitable “goodbye” in a few weeks. But I push that voice to the back of my mind and enjoy my last few minutes with my girls.