Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“That was when oceans covered the vast majority of the world,” Rome finished for me. My eyes snapped up to his face to find him looking perfectly serious. “If you have enough consistent data in the form of fossils, it must raise the chances of being able to follow evolutionary changes in the life during that time period.”
“I…yeah…” I murmured while my brain struggled to keep up with what was happening.
Rome’s face broke into a broad grin. “What? You thought I wasn’t paying attention while you were talking at the museum.”
“No. I didn’t.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. Thankfully, Rome tossed his head and laughed. “You might not know this, but I can torment people and pay attention at the same time.”
The asshole pulled me out of my wordless shock and put me back in the land of annoyance. “Yeah. I noticed.”
The young woman working the restaurant register brought over our pizza, two small white plates, and a stack of napkins. Cooked cheese, oregano, and garlic danced through the air, and my stomach let out a war cry. I hadn’t thought I was that hungry, but that delicious smell was proving me wrong.
We fell into the greasy, hot goodness for several minutes, conversation completely forgotten as we inhaled two slices apiece.
“This is better than I expected. I didn’t eat the first couple of times I came here,” I murmured as I debated a third slice.
“It’s not bad. Probably helps that we’re starved. Have you tried any of the local pizzerias?”
“Some. Obviously Larosa’s since it’s freaking everywhere. Good sauce.”
Rome grunted and grabbed a third slice. “Very good sauce.”
I figured why not and selected another piece and put it on my plate. “So, are you actually a librarian, or do you just volunteer at that library?”
My companion gave me a closed-mouth smile as he chewed his pizza. After washing it down with a swig from his beer, he put his pizza on his plate and wiped his fingers off with a napkin. “You don’t think I could be a librarian?”
“I don’t know. Until I ran into you at the museum after the concert, I didn’t think about you at all,” I admitted, maybe a little more snidely than I should have. I cleared my throat and tried again, aiming for at least impersonal. “I thought after college you’d go run your parents’ company. It never once crossed my mind that I’d see you reading a book to kids in a public library in Kentucky.”
Rome snorted and tipped his beer bottle at me before taking another drink. “Okay, you got me. My cousin Sydney is now running the family business—thank fucking God—and my father is retired. He’s mostly doing charity work with my mom and building curio cabinets.”
The tea I’d been drinking got sucked down the wrong pipe, and I choked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Curio cabinets. You know, wooden hutches with shelves and doors where you put—”
“I know what a curio cabinet is,” I snapped at him. “Your dad is making them?”
Rome groaned and slumped in his seat. “Yes. He wanted a new hobby after he retired. Mom said it was the only way to keep him out of the office and out of Sydney’s hair. He got into woodworking and making furniture. He started small with jewelry boxes and birdhouses, but it got bigger. The man is obsessed with fancy curio cabinets.”
Seconds ticked by, and I stared at him. I remembered Rome’s dad, Atlas Ashbridge, well. He was a tall, stocky man with a broad grin and always dressed in an expensive suit. But I had zero memory of the man making anything by hand, let alone woodworking. He had to be worth a few billion dollars, and he was making curio cabinets now instead of lounging on the French Riviera. Weird.
“If it helps, he’s offered to make my coffin more than once in recent years because of my mouth.”
“I believe it.” With a shake of my head, I shoved aside the warring images of Rome’s dad and focused on what we’d been talking about prior to this strange detour. “But the library? You’re a librarian?”
“Yep, even got my master’s in library sciences and information from the University of Kentucky. But that was a few years ago. I got my bachelor’s in psychology from Harvard.”
“You? At Harvard? For psychology?”
Rome looked less than amused as he scowled at me. “I’m not a dumbass.”
“No, I guess not. You just…hated studying, and I don’t remember you liking books.”
The annoyed expression fell away with Rome’s shrug. “I hated studying. Books are fine. When I went to college the first time, I was there to socialize and have fun. I chose psychology because nothing else was interesting, and I had to get a degree to make my parents happy. After I graduated, I knew I was getting my trust fund. My plan was to hand that over to a good financial advisor, let them make it grow, and I’d live off the interest.”