Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Is it at least a room with two beds?” I growled in frustration.
“Well, no. There’s only one bed.” At my irritated expression, he added quickly, “But the room does have a couch in it. It’s not a pullout, but it would be comfortable for one night.”
“That’s fine.” Eve spoke up. “I can sleep on a couch.”
“No, this is unacceptable.”
She elbowed me. “We need this job. Just take the room, Whitt. What’s the worst that could happen?”
I would be trapped in a room, alone with Eve Houston all night.
“It’s one night,” she said with a gleam of challenge in her eyes. “I’m game if you are.”
I’d never been able to back down from a challenge. Was it insane to be alone with her when I could barely control myself in her presence? I’d wanted more distance between her and my needy cock. Not less.
And yet I found myself nodding. I could do this. What was one night in the grand scheme of things?
“Fine,” I said with a nod. “We’ll take it.”
8
Eve
The hotel situation was fresh in my mind through our meeting with the Kings. We hadn’t reconciled what to do about the one king bed in the room. We’d had enough time to throw our stuff upstairs, change, and head over to meet Malcolm King. Neither of us had even glanced at the bed. And now, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It didn’t help that Whitt had barely looked at me since. What was he thinking about all of it? Not that we’d had time to talk about it while we were surveying the different locations. I gave my opinion on the different acreage based on my experience in real estate as well as living in Midland. We drove behind Malcolm King’s pickup truck to the different sites. I wasn’t sure if he had noticed anything strange between me and Whitt, but everything I knew about him said that he was observant, brilliant, and intimidating. I’d been friends with his younger brother, Nate, who was more on the brash, jokester, and wild spectrum. I was glad that Malcolm didn’t remember me. It was easier this way.
“Thanks for your time,” Whitt said, shaking Malcolm’s hand.
“No, thank you. Coming down on a Friday afternoon on a rodeo weekend is a lot,” he said with a grin. “I appreciate your expertise. Think this will be a great step forward.”
He shook my hand next. “Thank you, Eve.”
“Our pleasure. Let us know if there’s anything else you need from us.”
“I will do that.” He furrowed his brow as he released my hand. “You look familiar. You said you were from here?”
So much for not remembering me.
“Uh, yeah. I went to school with Nate.”
Malcolm’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh.”
“Not like that!” I said quickly.
“Not like what?” Whitt asked. His jaw clenched.
Malcolm and I exchanged a look and then laughed.
“My brother has…dated a lot.”
“That’s putting it mildly. He’s a total womanizer,” I told Whitt. “He even dated Blaire for a bit before she and Campbell got together.”
“Really?” Whitt asked. “That must have been before my time.”
“It was.”
“And you and Nate were just friends?” Malcolm asked dubiously.
“I was not one of his conquests,” I assured him. “Ask him about Eve Houston. He’ll tell you.”
“Good to hear that some women have some sense,” Malcolm said.
“Taste,” I corrected with a wink.
Malcolm laughed harder at that. I could see why all the girls had gone wild for him in school. He was several years older than us and the starting quarterback that took our high school to state. He had been every girl’s Friday Night Lights dream.
My eyes slid to Whitt, who had stuffed his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. He was watching our interaction very closely. Almost like he was interested in what was going on. Or even…jealous?
We’d flirted since he’d gotten back from Seattle, but besides the one tug of my hair—holy fuck me sideways—he’d been stiff ever since. Maybe I was misinterpreting his intentions all over again. Mr. Long-Term Relationship probably didn’t care if Malcolm and I had a little banter. Right?
“If y’all are free, my family is having a summer barbecue tomorrow night. We’d love for you to join us,” Malcolm said.
“Appreciate the offer,” Whitt said, “but we’ll be back in Lubbock by then.”
“If the hotels weren’t all booked, I’d say we should stay another night,” I said apologetically.
“Completely understand. The rodeo eats up the entire town. Next time.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll send over the final paperwork when I get back into the office on Monday,” Whitt said, shaking hands with Malcolm one more time.
Then, we were striding away from the empty, old oil land and back to his Lexus. It stood out in the dusty, desolate fields. We probably would have been better off with my 4Runner, but after the timing belt issue, I wasn’t sure it would make many more Midland trips. I needed to reserve them for Bailey.