Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“I know. I want to do it.”
“Don’t you have to work, too?”
Cam shrugs this off. “I can record some footage while we cut the grass, so we can be working and trimming the yawn at the same time.”
It sounds ridiculous, but I know their followers will love watching them cut grass. In fact, I’m going to have a hard time not watching them, especially since I just know they’re going to have their shirts off while they do it.
“Will the noise from the lawnmower disturb your work?” Wyatt asks.
“I think it’ll be okay, but really, you don’t need to do that.”
“You work hard,” Cam says. “What’s wrong with letting someone help you once in a while?”
“Okay, but I can pay you.”
“No, you can’t. We’re just being neighborly.” Cam nods toward my laptop, sitting open on the dining table. “You’d better get back to work.”
So I do, though I’m very distracted by the thought of the men working in my yard, and I lose all train of thought when either of them passes by the back door.
It’s like a live-action Battle Duel Boys reel, all for my own personal viewing, but then I remember that they’re recording footage to post for all their followers. The jealousy that accompanies this thought isn’t rational.
After about an hour, Wyatt knocks on the back door. “Do you have time to come outside so we can show you the places we patched the fence?”
They lead me to the side of the house where the skunk exited, and then also around to the other side, where they found another small hole.
“Your yard is secure now,” Wyatt says with a satisfied grin.
“Thank you for that, and for cutting the lawn, too. I really appreciate it.”
“No big deal.”
Maybe it’s no big deal to them, and it’s just basic yard work, but it gives me a strange feeling.
No man has ever made me feel like he was taking care of me, not even my father or stepdad. Another wave of shyness hits me, along with some other kind of tender emotion I can’t quite name, and I have to look away from the men.
CHAPTER 23
CAM
Stella doesn’t seem in any particular hurry to get back inside, so I keep the conversation going. “How are you feeling about what happened last night?”
Something hot flashes behind her eyes, but her smile turns playful. “You mean about the skunk? It was kind of scary.”
I slide my foot closer to hers, and tap the toe of her clog with my shoe. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
She puts on a sweetly innocent face. “Oh, did something else happen last night?”
If it wasn’t blatantly obvious that she’s joking, I’d be hurt. That kiss was much too good to forget.
“I had a great evening, despite almost getting skunked,” Wyatt says.
I tap her foot once more. “Can I ask why you don’t date?”
She half shrugs and looks down at our feet, where mine is resting near hers. “I don’t know. It’s complicated as a single mom.”
I nod at that. I can’t imagine the amount of work that goes into raising another human, and Stella is obviously doing a damn good job at it.
“With Jessie and with work, I’m busy, and I’m just not interested in going out and having fun for fun’s sake.”
Wyatt and I both frown at that. “You deserve to go out and have fun,” he says. “In fact, I’d argue that it’s like the oxygen mask thing on planes. You need to take care of yourself first, so you can better take care of others.”
She shrugs again, looking everywhere except at us.
She’s interested. She wanted to kiss us last night, and I can tell she’d enjoy going out with us, too, or I wouldn’t be trying to persuade her.
“Surely you can take a few hours off from mom duty?” I suggest. “Can Marissa watch Jessie?”
“She could …”
I clap my hands together once. “Then it’s settled. When would you like to go?”
“Wait, I never said I was going.”
“Just one date, Stella. That’s all. Then you can return to your no-dating policy. Though I doubt you’ll want to.”
She’s looking at me when she asks, “Is this date with you, or both of you?”
“Both of us.”
Her eyes widen. “Where would we go?”
I shrug and grin at her. “A little mystery is part of the fun.”
“What he means is that we don’t know yet either,” Wyatt says.
“Yeah, he’s right,” I say. “The mystery is part of the fun for us, too.”
When Stella laughs, I say, “See? You’re having fun already.”
“Let us know what night you’re free, and we’ll make ourselves available,” Wyatt tells her.
Stella tilts her head, looking adorable. “I still haven’t agreed.”
“You have,” I tease, but then I put on a formal posture and bow in front of her. “Stella, will you do us the honor of going on a date with us?”