Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
I'm officially the crazy Karen in our neighborhood. I've replaced Letty.
"Hey." Sarah wraps her arm around my waist, resting her head against mine. "You did the right thing, Olive. It's funny in retrospect because it was just a bird, but if I'd heard someone screaming for help, I would have made the call, too. Any reasonable person would have. That's not something you just ignore, even if you do like the guy."
"I feel like a jerk," I mutter.
"You feel like a jerk because you like him," she says. "You've been spiraling and connecting all these dots to paint your own picture because it's easier than admitting the truth. That's kind of what you do, you know."
"Is not," I mutter.
"Yeah, it is. You panic-spiral and come up with reasons not to do the thing you want to do, even when the reasons aren't logical. That's precisely why you haven't gone on a single date in two years. You're scared to put yourself out there again."
"Fine, maybe I do that a little bit. But I'm not the only one with issues here," I say pointedly.
"I don't have issues."
"Oh, really? So we're just going to keep pretending that you didn't go out with my brother?"
She jerks, sloshing coffee across her hand. "Shit!" she cries, flinging it off before turning wide, panicked eyes on me. "I…I…"
"I know," I say quietly.
"You don't," she whispers, her face falling.
"I do."
"You really, really don't. I…we…" She huffs, turning pink. "My date was a jerk, Olive! Jasper rescued me, and then things just…happened."
"What?"
"My date was a jerk."
"What are you talking about? Jasper was your date."
"What?" She gapes at me.
"You were supposed to be meeting him."
"I was?"
"Yeah. I knew you would never make a move, so I made a fake profile and lied to you to get you to meet up with him, and I'm not even sorry about it," I say. "You like each other, and he's not overseas any longer. It was beyond time for this to happen."
"It was him?"
"Yep."
Her face drains of color. "Oh, no," she whispers, dismayed. "I think…I messed up."
"What? How?"
"I need to go!" she cries, plunking her mug down on the island. "I need to go right now."
"What? Why?"
"I'll explain later! Watch the store until Lilah gets here!" she cries, already rushing for the door.
I just stare after her, confused as hell. What the hell happened between her and Jasper? And who the hell did she meet on her blind date if not him? I have so many questions.
I guess I'll have to wait for answers because she's already gone, the bell chiming behind her. And I'm stuck here when I should be packing my entire house to move to Europe.
Mason probably hates me right now. Honestly, who could blame him?
"I'm such an idiot," I groan.
Chapter Five
Mason
Going to the bookstore to see Olive is probably a bad idea, but I'm slowly losing my mind. It's been a week since she called the police on my mother's bird, and I haven't seen her once.
I've taken to lingering in the front yard like a goddamn nuisance, trying to catch her off guard. So far, no dice. She's avoiding the hell out of me. It's making me nuts.
I need to see her again.
So the bookstore is my only option. I know she's here today. I called ahead to ask. That's right. I've officially reached the willing-to-do-shady-shit-to-win level of whatever game the two of us are playing. I'm harassing her coworkers and friends now.
The woman I spoke with—I think she said her name is Jazz—asked if I was the hot neighbor with the murder bird. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign, but she promised to stall Olive long enough for me to get here.
My girl is setting up a display table, lost in her work, when I stroll in. She doesn't hear the bell. She doesn't see me, either. She's meticulously arranging books wrapped in kraft paper, humming to herself. She looks as beautiful as ever in a soft pink sweater and a black skirt.
The woman at the counter sees me staring at Olive, looks me up and down, and then smirks before vanishing into the back.
I take a step toward Olive, clearing my throat.
She freezes.
"You've been avoiding me, Rebel," I growl softly, stalking toward her before she decides to bolt for the back.
"Yes," she admits, shocking me. I expected a furious denial. "I've been busy, Mason."
"Yeah? Busy with what?"
"Well, the first few days, I was busy researching which European country I should move to, and how to legally change my name," she says without turning around. "But that seemed like a lot of paperwork and manual labor, and I don't want to do either. So then I started looking for an apology card, but apparently, no one makes one that says, 'Sorry I thought you were a serial killer and called 9-1-1 on your bird'." Her shoulders slump. "Now, I'm busy trying to work up the nerve to knock on your door to apologize."