Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“It’s not heavy.”
“Give me the bag.” The words were stern. Firm.
She handed the bag over without thought. Drat.
“That’s better. I don’t care how heavy or light it is. I carry the bags. I open the doors. And I pay when we’re out. Got me?”
Not really.
“Sure,” she said.
He eyed her, then he took her free hand and led her outside. The door locked automatically behind her and he started down the stairs. His hand was warm and firm around hers. She should probably protest.
But the truth is, she didn’t want to.
They reached his truck, and he unlocked it before opening the passenger side door.
“How high is this?” Shit. She only had short legs. And she was wearing a long skirt.
“I’ll help you in.” Before she could attempt to get in, his hands were around her waist and he lifted her inside.
Heck.
She was in before she had time to think about it. And then Raid put her stuff in the back before rounding the front of the truck to climb in.
“I’ll drop you at the clinic. Go to work. Then I’ll be back to pick you up.”
“What?” She gave him a surprised look. “You don’t have to pick me up.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Raid, that’s nuts. I only work until one-thirty today. You won’t get any work in.”
“I don’t want you walking home.”
She gave him a look. “I’ll be fine. You don’t even need to come back tonight.”
The words hung in the cab of the truck. And she instantly felt awful. As though she didn’t appreciate him dropping everything to take care of her.
“I’m sorry,” she said hastily, feeling tears fill her eyes. Great. Now she was crying.
Why was she always crying?
“What?”
“I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch. Sorry.”
He pulled up outside the clinic. “Baby, I didn’t think you sounded like a bitch.”
“I did, though! It’s not that I don’t appreciate you taking care of me. You cooked for me, bought my food, you kept everyone away from me when I didn’t want anyone close, and I basically just told you to go away.”
“Whoa, Hannah, look at me.”
She glanced up at him, wiping away her tears.
“Stop crying.”
“I’m trying.”
“Stop. Crying.” It was said firmly. But tears didn’t listen to firm. Tears didn’t listen to anyone. Tears did what they were going to do.
And right now, those tears wanted to drip down her cheeks.
Those tears were assholes.
He wiped at her cheeks. “You need to stop crying. I hate when you cry.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Hate when you say sorry, too. And when you think bad things about yourself.”
“Is there anything you like about me?” she asked, starting to feel insulted.
His face grew soft, and he reached out slowly to brush more tears off her cheeks. “Only everything.”
“Shoot. Don’t be kind to me when I’m crying.”
“Why not? Won’t that stop the crying?”
“Nothing seems to stop the crying. I just go from sad tears to happy.”
He shook his head and unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’m going to hold you now.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t sure how he was going to do that when she was sitting across the console from him.
But like most things, Raid easily solved that issue by lifting her over the middle console and onto his lap. Where he hugged her against him. “Are you sure you want to go back to work, darlin’?”
“I need to get some sort of normalcy back into my life.” And she also needed money.
He kissed the side of her head. “Okay. But I’m coming back tonight at least, all right?”
“Are you . . . I mean, I’m not sure . . . what is happening here?”
“You know what’s happening.”
Did she?
“And is this really the conversation you want to have right now?”
“I take your point,” she said. It wasn’t the time or place. “But I also don’t want you running yourself ragged taking care of me. You need to work as well. And you should be sleeping in your bed.”
What are you doing? That’s not what you really want!
“You don’t want me to stay? To spend time with you? Check in with you?”
She opened her mouth to agree. But she couldn’t. “Crap. I want those things.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do! I want you. I want us. It’s just . . . things are going fast. I know we’ve only kissed, but I didn’t even think that was going to be possible. I just need things to go slow.”
“I can do slow.”
She shot him a skeptical look. “You can?”
“Yep.”
“How slow?”
“How about this? I’ll pick you up at six tonight.”
“Pick me up?”
“Yep. I’ll pick you up. We’re going for dinner.”
“Dinner?” she repeated.
He tilted her face back with a finger under her chin. “You feeling all right, baby?”
“I’m not sure. I might be a bit dizzy.”
“Right. You’re going to the hospital. Jenna must have missed something.”
“No, wait! Stop! Jenna didn’t miss anything.”
He eyed her suspiciously.
“I didn’t mean I was actually dizzy. Just my brain was spinning from you wanting to take me on a date.”