Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“You do?” I snapped the lid on a container of leftovers and stuck it in the fridge. “What is it?”
“I’m taking you to dinner at Etoile next week.”
I gasped. “Really?”
“Yes. Our reservation is at six-thirty on Wednesday. But it’s a bit of a drive, and there’s something we have to do before dinner, so we have to leave around four.” He closed the dishwasher and faced me. “Is that okay?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the something we have to do?”
“I’m not telling.”
“I have a funny feeling it involves a food truck.”
His muscular shoulders twitched. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Dash.” I pummeled his chest gently with two fists. “I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet. Or talk to my parents. And I’m certainly in no position to commit to buying.”
“You don’t have to commit to anything. I just want you to meet Gianni and see the truck. And then we’ll enjoy dinner at his restaurant. I’m sure it will be good, and you’ve earned a night off from cooking.”
“I’ve been dying to go there,” I confessed. “I’ve heard nothing but great things.”
“See?” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “We’ll have a good time.”
I grinned, already thinking about what I’d wear on this dream date with Dashiel Buckley at a romantic French restaurant.
“I love putting that smile on your face,” he said, running his thumb over my lips. “It makes me feel so good.”
In my bedroom, we undressed and got into bed on opposite sides but immediately met in the middle, my head on his chest, his arms around me.
“I keep thinking about what you said,” I whispered.
“About what?”
“Burying your feelings. It makes me sad.”
He brushed his fingers up and down my back. “I just don’t like inviting people in that way.”
“But why? What do you think would happen?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just don’t think it’s anyone’s business what I feel.”
“Even if it would help your acting to be a little more vulnerable?”
His hand kept moving on my back. Up and down. Up and down. “I sometimes worry that I won’t be able to turn it off. Like, if I feel anything too deeply, I’ll feel everything too deeply. And I have memories that hurt.”
I pressed my lips to his chest. “I know. But you also have a gift. You can make people feel things just by speaking words on a page.”
“Maybe.”
“You can, Dash. Everyone knows what it’s like to fall apart. That’s why it’s so moving when we see it happening to a character we care about. Don’t hold yourself back.”
“You sound like Delphine.”
I picked up my head and smiled at him. “Sorry. I get worked up thinking about this because I know how talented you are. I want the world to know it too.”
He laughed softly. “Thanks.”
“I just think it’s so incredible to have that kind of power—you can tell stories that make people feel less alone. You can move them to laughter or tears. You can make people fall in love. All I do is cook stuff.”
“Stop it.” His voice was serious. “You have a gift too. And I’m not just talking about cooking. You see the best in people, and you know how to bring it out. You make everyone around you feel good about themselves. Especially me.”
I tilted my head. “Are you just saying that because you like my blowjobs?”
“No. I mean, I love them, obviously, but I’m saying it because it’s true. I feel more comfortable being myself around you than I ever have with anyone else.”
“Really?” My heart sang in my chest.
“Yes. I don’t know what the fuck it is—maybe it’s because I’ve known you for so long—but I feel . . . I don’t know. Safe with you.”
I grinned. “Look at you talking about your feelings. Delphine would be so proud.”
“Smart-ass.” He spanked me lightly, and I kissed him, tipping onto my side and slinging a leg over his thighs.
“Will your dad worry when you don’t come home tonight?”
“I sent him a text and told him I was staying somewhere else.”
“Where did you say you were?”
“Ari, I’m twenty-seven. I don’t have to explain my whereabouts to my father. Plus, I think he’s so wrapped up in his secret love affair, he’s oblivious to me. I wish he would just tell us about her.” He ran a hand over my ass. “Not that I’m telling anyone about my lady friend. I’m keeping her all to myself.”
“What are we going to do when Mabel comes home next week?”
“I don’t know. Do we have to tell her?”
I chewed my lower lip. “I’m not good at keeping secrets from her. Plus, she knows me. She’ll guess, even if I don’t tell her.”
“Is she going to make me give you up?”
“I don’t think so.” Between us, I felt his cock stirring, and I reached down to sheath it with one hand.