Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
I glanced out the bay window to see Jason climb out of the SUV toting a sack of fast food and a cardboard tray of drinks. He wouldn’t meet my eyes when he came in. He pulled a hamburger out of the bag, set it on the table, and announced it was mine. Then he took the empty chair between me and Derrick and dug his own dinner out of the sack.
He was oblivious to the irritation seeping out of me.
He unfolded his burger’s wrapper, lifted the bun, and pulled off the tomato slice. It was discarded on the wrapper, the bun was reseated, and then he devoured a third of the sandwich in a single bite.
I simply watched him with disbelief.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked, finally setting his gaze on me.
I didn’t care if I sounded judgmental. “I can’t really afford to put garbage in my body.”
He stilled, not liking my ‘garbage’ comment, but then must have decided he didn’t care. His shoulders rose with a shrug. “You might starve, then, because this is the majority of our meals.”
I stared down at the table, skeptical of the food inside the wrapper.
“Shit,” he joked. “It’s not like it’s illegal.”
I clenched my jaw and bit back what I’d like to say. Everything about this man touched a nerve. The wrapper tore a little under my hands as I hurried to open it. Inside, the squished, brown circle looked completely unappetizing, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. It’d be a victory for him, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
Then, an even better idea took hold.
I lifted the crown of my bun, removed the unappetizing pickles and swapped them for Jason’s tomato. Both men watched as I slapped the bun down on top and took a bite. As I chewed, I knew it was childish, but I’d hoped for Jason to look defeated.
But he continued to act like he couldn’t care less. In fact, he immediately retrieved my pickles and added them to the remainder of his sandwich.
Of course.
I wished I could ignore him, but it was impossible. I was aware of him in every way, even when I didn’t want to be.
I resumed my photo search and had to play mental games to keep my attention on the screen, noting anything unusual about a picture as it flashed past. That one had a black eye; maybe he had resisted arrest. Another had a bad facial tattoo, and I wondered if he ever regretted it.
“You have to be hungry.” Jason’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“I’m fine.” The weight of his gaze on me forced me to stop what I was doing. “What?”
“Do you want something else? If I’d known you were awake, I would have asked what you—”
“I was supposed to be awake hours ago. Remember?”
If he felt guilty, it didn’t show on his face. He continued to stare at me with his dark eyes, and it forced me into action. I picked up the burger and choked down another bite. Maybe it was good, but I couldn’t taste anything. I was too distracted by him.
My attempt to appease him worked temporarily, and I resumed my game with the photos, but I had to stop when I felt my mind wandering. It kept drifting to the man sitting beside me who hadn’t really taken his focus off me since sitting down.
“Can I help you with something?” It came out just as pointed as I wanted it to.
“Yeah.” He didn’t skip a beat. “You can finish your dinner.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because you look like you can’t afford to miss too many meals.”
His words plunged the table into horrible, awkward silence.
Once again, he looked stricken, as if he hadn’t meant to say anything, but there was no getting the words back now. Derrick mumbled that he’d forgotten something in his room and vanished down the hall, abandoning his partner.
He thinks you’re too skinny.
Why did I care what he thought about my body?
“Don’t worry about me,” I snapped. “I’m probably healthier than you.”
He said it like an apology. “You’re right.”
Yet when I looked at his broad shoulders and wide chest, I wondered how true that was. He looked like he took care of himself and visited the gym often. He probably looked amazing beneath that wrinkled shirt, all hard muscle and smooth skin and . . .
I launched to my feet to escape the thought and hurried to fold up the wrapper so I could throw the remainder of my sandwich in the garbage. But he was up on his feet too now, his broad frame blocking my path.
Breath hitched in my lungs as he reached out to take the burger from my hand, his fingers brushing against mine and sending a surge of electricity through my body. Our gazes connected for a single moment, and he looked as off balance as I felt.