Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“Yup. Absolutely. And don’t think I didn’t see you checking out my rack a minute ago,” she notes.
“I like your curves,” I confess as I pull my shirt over my head.
“I have a lot of them.” Wills beckons me forward. “You’ve got something in your hair.”
She slides a hand up my chest and curves it around the back of my neck. For a moment, our eyes meet.
“Bend for me,” she murmurs.
I grin. “I always do.”
Her nails dig into my skin, and my body instantly reacts as she tugs my head down. I don’t resist. Especially not since I’m now looking down the front of her shirt into her glorious cleavage. I would love to end tonight snuggling on the couch, my head resting on her softness.
“Got it.” The bite of her nails and the warmth of her palm disappears from the back of my neck. She holds a dandelion fluff between her finger and thumb. “Make a wish on three.”
On three she releases the dandelion fluff. I wish, not for the first time, that she would see the truth and believe it.
She closes her eyes and her lips move as she makes her own wish, the fluff floating away on the breeze.
I almost lean in to kiss her pretty, tempting lips. But then I remember she’s only on this date because we need photographic evidence of our fake relationship.
Once I’ve locked up the car, she falls into step beside me. She doesn’t yank her hand away when my fingers graze hers, so I link our pinkies.
While we pick berries we talk about the reunion and iron out the details of our relationship. I pause to put sunscreen on her shoulders when they start to turn pink. Her lips push out into a pout. “You were just carrying that around with you?”
“I know you’re prone to burning.” I brush the back of my hand over her cheek.
She tips her head. “Are you always this thoughtful?”
“This isn’t how you wanted to spend your Saturday, so I’m trying to make it bearable.”
“I don’t dislike being around you, Dallas. I just have a lot of feelings about the way you treated me when we were growing up.”
“I’m sorry about what happened—”
“I said I had a lot of feelings, not that I wanted to talk about them.”
And there’s my favorite Willy. The one who says exactly what she means. But as much as I love her for it, the way she shuts me down also makes it impossible to have a real conversation about the past, or to apologize the way I want to.
We finish filling our baskets in silence. Then she changes her shirt again so we can take pictures in their flower garden.
We go to a theater in the park performance, followed by dinner at one of her favorite restaurants.
Dinner is easy. We avoid talking about the reunion and Brooklyn and Sean. Instead, she fills me in on the project she’s working on with the women’s team. She’s animated and enthusiastic, and I wish, for the thousandth time, that I hadn’t given her so many reasons to hate me before now.
At the end of the night, I pull into the fifteen-minute parking spot at her building.
She unbuckles her seat belt and smiles softly. “I actually had a good time today.”
I stretch my arm across the back of her seat. “I could come up for a bit and take care of you.”
Her eyes flare. “Oh, uh…my roommate is home tonight.”
“We could go to my place instead.”
Her bottom lip slides through her teeth as her eyes rove over me. “That’s okay. I think it’s better if we don’t. Thank you for offering, though.” Her hand is already on the door.
“Of course. Yeah.” I swallow my disappointment.
Her eyes dart to my mouth, and for a moment I wonder if she wants me to kiss her. But this is Wills. The only reason she tolerated this day with me is so Brooklyn’s mom will stop questioning the validity of this relationship.
She gets out of the car and grabs her bag from the back seat. “Thanks again, Dallas. Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
I watch her walk away. So much for that wish I made.
CHAPTER 24
HEMI
“Idid something stupid.”
“That is not a statement I often hear coming from your mouth,” Shilpa says as she passes me another package of organza bags. We’re making favors for her cousin’s upcoming wedding. “What happened?”
“So you know I have a fun-time friend…” I fill another organza bag with Jordan almonds.
“The pharmaceutical rep?” Her eyes go wide. “Please tell me you’re not seeing him on the sly.”
“Of course not. I know better. The backlash would be horrible. It’s bad enough that I’m in a ‘relationship’ with a player. I’d be raked over the coals if I was caught cheating on him.” I let my head fall back against the cushions. “I may have mentioned him to Dallas.”