Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“He treats women like they’re a joke,” Drew says finally. “I don’t want that happening to you.”
“Don’t you do that?”
“Are you fucking serious?”
I wasn’t, but now I am—because that is what Drew does. It’s what all his friends do. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve experienced it, too.
LOL Look, you’re an amazing girl and so sweet. But I don’t think we’re really compatible like that. Sorry, babe.
It was the look in Seth’s eyes that sealed the deal. He thought I was a joke then, just like I am to Drew right now. And the realization stings.
“Stay the fuck away from him,” Drew says as if that’s the end of the conversation. “Now, I gotta go. Stop loitering with the trash, Audrey.”
The call ends before I can comment back. I stare at the darkened screen, trying to process what just happened. I feel like I’m in an alternate reality, or else the reality I’ve lived in up until this moment hasn’t been real. I’ve never seen Drew behave or speak this way. So, why is he acting like such a fool now? Because he’s not getting his way?
The things he said about Brooks are in exact opposition to the things I know about him, and when pressed to give me examples, Drew couldn’t. In the past, I wouldn’t have argued with him and simply heeded his advice. But now? Now it feels like an assault on my intelligence. It feels … dirty. He referred to my doctoral knowledge as cute. That’s definitely hedging toward asshole behavior, something I’ve never considered my brother.
Standing in the middle of Blackbird Ranch, surrounded by rolling fields and endless sky, I’m strangely calm.
I check the time on my phone and then open my text app.
Me: Hey, Mom! I’m not going to have service for a few days. Just wanted to give you a heads-up before I go off the grid. I’m fine and will call you when I return. Love you.
I silence notifications from her, Dad, and my brother.
Then I head back to the cabin wondering how I’m going to hold up my end of the bargain and convince Drew to help get Brooks’s license back. Oof.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Audrey
I peek out the window. Nothing yet.
Astrid: I’m so here for this. A little but I’m here for it.
Gianna: I’m wet for you. I mean, I’ve seen Brooks Fucking Dempsey, and that man is going to eat you alive!
I giggle, my insides bouncing around like I’m in a fun house … which I might be in a few hours.
The enormity of the situation hit me as soon as I started throwing a few things into a bag for the road trip with Brooks. A little over a week ago, leaving Nashville on the spur of the moment was a big deal to me. Today, I’m packing lingerie for a few overnights with the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on—and he wants me.
No games. No crap. No excuses.
He wanted to, so he did … me, in a few hours.
Who am I?
I peek out the window again, alight with bees buzzing in my stomach. Still nothing.
Astrid: Don’t scare her.
Gianna: We’re obviously past that. It’s go time. It’s COME ON (things) time!
Gianna: Is it wrong to wish I could watch?
Astrid: YES
Me: YES
Gianna: It’s gonna be so hot, Auddie.
Me:
Astrid: We’ll know how hot it was depending on how many cartwheels she sends tonight.
I lift my gaze to the window as my ears perk at the sound of crunching gravel. A truck turns from the road into the driveway, and it’s black, not white. Brooks.
Me: He’s here! OMG. I’m sweating, you guys.
I squeal, running down the hall before he can see me. I don’t want to look desperate.
Astrid: Have fun. We love you.
Gianna: Yeah, yeah. Report back. I WANT DETAILS.
I shiver with excitement waiting for him to knock at the door.
A peace that I’ve dreamed of feeling drifts onto my heart like a feather blowing in the wind.
I’m finally that girl. And gosh, it feels good.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Audrey
“Do we have any more of those butterscotch candies?” Brooks asks from the driver’s seat. A pile of wrappers flows over the edge of the center console tray. There must be eighty at this point.
“No, I think you’ve officially demolished all of them,” I say, laughing. “I didn’t know you had a butterscotch obsession.”
“That will be one of a few obsessions you learn about me over the next few days.”
Oh. I grin, sitting back in my seat and getting as comfortable as I can with every nerve in my body crackling under my skin. The seatbelt is the only thing keeping me steady.
We’ve been in the car for an hour, meandering through the soft hills and valleys of Tennessee. Songs play through the truck speakers from a playlist I chose from his phone. He handed me the device and said to pick something. It was such a drastic difference from how most men handle their phones around me. They act like they have the nuclear codes saved in their notes. Brooks removed the passcode so I could change the songs at my leisure.