Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Wow,” Veda whispered.
“Yeah.”
“I thought you were just going to tell me he has a big one.”
Eve drew the line at detailing Madden’s physical attributes, but she gave Veda a telling look. The other girl crossed herself in response.
“Next you’re going to tell me he’s obsessed with going down on you.” Veda laughed. Eve kept her expression neutral. No need to rub in her good fortune. Even if it was temporary. “Do you worry about him being in New York?” Veda then asked after a few moments, her expression genuinely curious. “I mean, in terms of women and how they tend to gravitate toward pro athletes. Do you worry about that?”
The thought hadn’t even crossed Eve’s mind. There was no rule against him pursuing other women during their six-month arrangement. She simply knew Madden wouldn’t. “No. I’m not worried.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do you worry about Smith?”
“Are you serious? He’s a musician. I worry about him meeting other women when he’s sleeping.” Veda sighed. “It’s slim pickins out here, bro. Not all of us can lock down a stacked athlete. Just you and my sister.”
“Oh.” Now, this was interesting. Not wanting to spook Veda, Eve pretended to scan some of the paperwork on her desk. “Have Elton and your sister seen each other again since we introduced them?”
“Yeah, I think once. And they’ve been texting.” Veda’s leg started to bounce up and down, somewhat violently. “Like, there is literally no better match, right?”
Eve gave a noncommittal sound.
“She wants to settle down. Yesterday.” A long swallow shifted Veda’s throat. “Just like Elton, right?”
There was no way around that truth. “Yeah. For as long as I can remember, he’s been a serial monogamist. His fatal flaw is getting too committed too fast. It’s led to him getting his heart broken more than once.”
Veda hadn’t blinked in a full minute. “Really?” After an extended silence, she shook herself. “Yikes.”
“You’re not the settling-down type?”
“No,” Veda said vehemently. “Well. I mean, eventually. But that’s not my dream.”
“What is your dream?”
No one had ever asked her about her aspirations—Eve could see that truth in the way Veda’s chin jerked up at the question, eyes vulnerable. “I want to perform, yeah, but . . . in my own place, like this one. I want to be the place musicians come to be discovered.”
Eve processed that, her affinity for Veda growing. “I think that says a lot about you. That you want to put out a stepladder for other people, instead of climbing it yourself and leaving everyone else behind on the floor.”
Veda tried to suppress the pleasure that flooded her features but didn’t quite succeed. “Thanks.” She exhaled and changed the subject back to Eve. “Madden is obsessed with going down on you, isn’t he?”
Thankfully, Eve’s phone rang, saving her from having to answer the question.
“Oh.” She held up her phone so Eve could see Elton’s name scrolling sideways across her screen. “Speak of the devil.”
Veda’s leg finally stopped jiggling.
“Hey, Elton,” Eve answered. “What’s up?”
“Hey.” He was silent for a moment. “Is that construction I hear in the background? You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”
“Yup. Me and Veda.”
He took two breaths. “Yeah. How is she and toothpick boy?”
“Good with lumber, actually,” Eve said smoothly. “Do you think he makes his own toothpicks?”
“Do I care?” He coughed. “Veda. She’s . . . good, though?”
“Uh-huh.”
Veda frowned, obviously confused by her inability to hear Elton’s side of the conversation. “What did you call about?” Eve asked.
“Right. Me, Robbie, and Sky are going to the Yankees game on Saturday to watch Madden. I sweet-talked him into getting us into one of the team boxes.” He paused. “Mad sent extra tickets. I’m guessing in the hopes you’d come.”
That casual speculation made breathing harder, but Eve kept it together while looking at the calendar on her desk. “You want me to go . . . three nights from now?” Yeah, wow. That excited leap in Eve’s chest told her she really wanted to attend, but leaving town was impossible. Not with the construction just getting underway and two kids at home. Impossible. “I can’t. The kids . . .”
“I can babysit,” Veda said, sitting up straighter. “Whatever it is, go.”
“Veda is there?” Elton fairly shouted in her ear.
“Yes, she’s volunteering to babysit, but—”
“No, my parents will babysit. Sorry. I left that part out—I asked them before I even called you.” He paused. “Actually, one of the tickets was going to be for Alexis, but she can’t go. Does, uh . . .” He coughed. “Does Veda want to take the ticket?”
It took every last one of Eve’s facial muscles to hide her smile. “Do you want to go to a baseball game on Saturday?” she asked Veda, lowering the phone. “That would put it right before the fundraiser. Might be too much?”
“Me? He wants me to go?”