Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
“Now, sit right while I go pick up the groceries you dropped. You will not move. Except to drink this water.”
Grabbing her glass, he refilled it, placing it back on the table.
“Then we’re going to have a talk about safety while you eat a proper dinner. And by proper dinner, I am not talking about rice pudding.”
But it was so delicious.
And it was comfort food. She didn’t want to eat vegetables. You ate vegetables when things were going right in your life. When everything was going to crap, then you ate rice pudding.
Rice pudding was life.
Plus, this rice pudding was the good kind. A bit more expensive. But she needed it.
Right now she felt like an orange whose juice had all been sucked out, just leaving the shell and some sucked-on innards.
Hmm. That sounded gross.
She heard him talking. Then there was another voice. Was someone else was here? Getting to her feet, she tiptoed over to the doorway.
Jilly was good at staying under the radar, at sneaking around. But when she got to the doorway everything went silent.
Then she heard footsteps. Turning, she raced back to the chair.
Regent gave her a skeptical look when he returned. “Did you stay right there?”
“Where else would I go? I’m a good girl, remember?” She gave him an innocent look.
He made a scoffing noise as he carried an armful of her groceries over to the table, placing them down.
“You’re not fooling me, Jillian Anne Crane.”
She winced at hearing her last name. She usually used her mother’s maiden name now.
Her father had been known as The Crane. That name didn’t have happy connotations for her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
“Jilly, this doesn’t work if you lie to me,” he told her coldly as he inspected the bunch of bananas she’d bought.
They were all bruised.
Looks like she was going to be making banana ice cream.
“What doesn’t work?” she asked, confused.
He stilled, looking down at her. “Our relationship.”
“We have a relationship?”
Warmth filled her. They had a relationship! Something she’d always dreamed about.
Any moment now, he would rush across the room, pick her up into his arms and then fuck her against the wall. Or maybe he’d push her over the kitchen table.
Or just lay her down on the floor.
Jilly wasn’t fussy.
A strange look crossed his face before he cleared his throat. “Yes. We are acquaintances. Friends.”
“We’re friends?”
This. Was. Devastating.
Once more, she’d completely misread the situation.
What was she thinking? Of course he didn’t want her. As for being friends, well, that was a bit of a stretch too.
Acquaintances was closer to the truth.
“Um. Yes. What did you think we were?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to describe.” Mainly because she didn’t want to. “I usually see my friends more often.”
“That could be arranged.”
Her heart raced. What did he mean by that could be arranged? Why would he want to see her more often?
It didn’t make sense. There was no way he wanted to be her friend. So there had to be another reason.
She longed to say yes. But she knew she had to say no.
That would be better for her mental health because seeing him all the time, wanting him, lusting after him . . . it wasn’t healthy.
Jilly had never been that great at looking after herself, though.
“Uh, yes?” She winced. Did he hear the question mark in her voice?
If he did, he didn’t show it.
“Good. You obviously need a friend to keep an eye on you.”
What was happening?
Did he even remember that she was twenty-nine? Why did she need watching?
“I have friends.”
Picking the bananas up, he carried them over to the trash, along with some wilted lettuce and some dirty grapes.
“Wait! Don’t throw that out.”
He stared down at the food. “It’s ruined.”
“The grapes just need to be washed. I’ll put the bananas in the freezer to make ice cream. But yeah, the lettuce is gone. To be fair, I think it was gone well before I dropped everything on the ground.”
“Banana ice cream?”
“It’s yummy. Have you never had it before?”
“No.”
“I’ll make it for you sometime. The best thing is that it’s made with only bananas. No dairy. Good if you’re watching what you eat. Not that you need to do that, obviously. You’ve got a great body. From what I can see.”
Shut up, Jilly.
He raised an eyebrow as he set about washing the grapes.
Jilly knew she was staring. But she couldn’t help it.
He was washing grapes.
Regent Malone. In her kitchen. Washing grapes.
Sounded like a strange version of Clue. With the life he led, she was knew it would more likely be . . .
Regent Malone. In the study. With a smoking gun.
Or something like that.
She hadn’t even considered that he could do something so . . . so domestic.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She jolted out of her daydream as she blinked at him. “Yes. Why?”
“Because I said your name several times and you just stared blankly at me.”