Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
I close my eyes, tears spilling over again. “Fucking Duke.”
“Fuck that guy. How dare he think of you?”
“Rude.”
She scoffs. “Dump his ass.”
“Good thing we’re not dating.”
Mollie pauses as she takes a bite of grilled cheese. “Damn, that’s good. You know what’s not good?”
“What?”
“You sabotaging yourself like this. I know you like him. I know you’re wildly, indecently attracted to him. He’s good to you. You’re good to him. Why not date the guy? I mean, even your biology is begging you to make him your boyfriend.” She nods at my stomach.
I roll my eyes while I polish off another bite of my sandwich. “You know why.”
“You and Duke aren’t gonna end up like your parents, Wheeler.”
“But that’s just it, Mol. This is exactly how my parents got together. Their marriage—they did it for all the wrong reasons.”
“But think about it. You’ve been trying to sabotage your nonrelationship with Duke since before you were pregnant. You were clearly into him before this all happened, so it’s not like y’all hit it off just because a baby is in the picture.” She drops what’s left of her grilled cheese onto the wax paper and grabs a tissue from a nearby box, which she uses to wipe her hands. “Look, I know your parents well, but obviously I wasn’t around when they met and got together. From my understanding, they thought they were doing the right thing. It was a different time, and it happened under different circumstances.”
“True.”
“But I think the biggest difference is that your parents weren’t friends. Obviously they were lovers—”
“Jesus Christ, can you please not use that word in reference to my parents?”
Mollie grins. “You get what I’m saying, right? Maybe Tim and Frannie had chemistry, but they weren’t friends. They didn’t talk to each other the way you and Duke talk. They didn’t have shared interests. I think they did love each other at one point, but did they ever like each other?” She shrugs. “I’m not sure.”
My heart hammers. I’ve never thought about my parents’ relationship that way. I always knew they weren’t well suited for each other. Dad is obsessed with work and golf, while Mom loves music and her sisters and books. My parents would occasionally go out to a concert, and every so often, they’d get us a sitter so they could attend parties in our neighborhood when we were little.
Beyond that, though, I don’t ever recall them doing something fun together. I really don’t remember them talking to each other about anything other than work, my brothers and me, or the house.
They had a shared life, but shared interests? Not really.
“Now you and Duke, on the other hand—wouldn’t you say y’all are friends?” Mollie asks.
I can barely hear her above the thump of my pulse in my ears. “I mean…I don’t know. I think he’s a hookup more than anything else, right?”
Mollie shoots me a look. “Do hookups take note of your cravings and then call in a favor to have that craving fulfilled?” She nods at my half-eaten grilled cheese. “Do they drive twenty hours across the country during a snowstorm so you can make it to a trunk show for your business? Do they move you into their adorable cottage—”
“The cottage is really freaking cute.”
“And make sure you have a bed and clean sheets and curtains and peppermint tea?”
I furrow my brow. “How do you know about the tea?”
“Where do you think he got it from? I had a stash at my cabin.”
My stomach is doing somersault after somersault. Oddly enough, I don’t feel nauseous, however. I feel…
Like smiling. And crying.
I want to give Duke a hug. Then I wanna strip him down and take him to bed.
“Y’all both have big dreams,” Mollie continues. “You both want to see the world. Do something different with your careers and your lives. You’re both scary good at darts.”
“I’m better, actually,” I say with a grin.
“You make him laugh, Wheeler.” Mollie reaches over to tuck my hair behind my ear. “He loves being around you. Cash and the guys were always rolling their eyes over how much Duke talked about you. He’s obsessed with you, friend, and I think that’s because y’all have managed to create this beautiful friendship. Yeah, y’all slept together. But you were friends first. Still are. And that is why you guys won’t end up like your parents.”
A feeling, warm and light and real, rises through my center.
Mollie is right.
Deep down, I know she’s right. Maybe I got pregnant just like Mom did, but that’s where the similarities between our circumstances end. Duke is a good friend. I’m a good friend to him.
Which means I have to keep putting myself out there. Keep being vulnerable and keep opening myself to his wonderfulness. And damn is he wonderful. I could easily fall in love with this man.