Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“I’ll call someone to fix that tomorrow,” Benjamin said.
“Thank you for coming out,” Dorian told the firefighter.
“Of course. That’s my job. You should be good to go back inside the house.” He nodded once. “You all have a good night.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
Benjamin spoke to the firefighter a bit more as they walked back toward the truck. The other fireman emerged from the house before climbing into the truck.
Dorian and I were left standing alone. The wind from the ocean blew my hair around.
“Come on.” He placed his hand gently on my back. “Let’s go back in.”
Still a bit frozen in shock, I didn’t move.
“Everything is fine, Primrose.” He repeated, “Let’s go inside where it’s warm.”
I nodded, forcing one foot in front of the other.
Once inside, we faced each other in the foyer. I walked over to the living room, returning the blanket to the couch.
His eyes narrowed. “What’s going on? You seem really shaken by something that turned out to be nothing.”
I didn’t want to recall the horrible memory, but I owed Dorian an explanation for my behavior. “When I was younger, the house next door to us burned down,” I told him. “Three members of the family passed away, including the girl who’d been my best friend at the time. Whenever there’s a fire alarm, I get rattled, I guess.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Thank you,” I muttered.
“What was her name?”
“Lily. The first great tragedy of my life.”
“Not the last unfortunately, huh?” He exhaled.
“No.”
“Well, that certainly explains your reaction.”
“Sorry for freaking out. I realize there was nothing to freak out about.”
“No apologies needed.”
“Thank you for risking your life to grab me a blanket.” I smiled.
“You even sleep in crop tops, I see.” Dorian gave me a once-over, sending a chill down my back.
“What else is there?” I smirked.
Our eyes caught for a long moment before I went toward the kitchen.
“You’re not going back to bed?” he called from behind me.
I turned, walking backward. “I’m wired now. I won’t sleep. Just gonna make some tea.” Stopping, I tilted my head. “Wanna join me?”
He chewed his bottom lip for a moment. “I should try to get some shut-eye. I have to leave early in the morning.”
Disappointed, I turned away from him again. “Okay, then. Goodnight.”
“’Night.”
Still feeling on edge as I made tea, I watched as the steam began to rise from the kettle, trying to catch it before the whistle went off. I removed it from the stovetop and poured the hot water into a mug.
After moving over to the breakfast nook, I sipped my tea while looking out at the dark ocean. It had been years since I’d been spooked by a fire alarm like that. I thought I’d gotten over it, but trauma was a bitch. Dorian had been super sweet to go inside to get me that blanket. Despite my nerves, wrapping it around myself had felt like a warm hug.
About twenty minutes later, I heard footsteps and Dorian appeared, now wearing a black T-shirt over his gray sweatpants. Goose bumps peppered my arms at the sight of him.
His hair was tousled, his voice groggy. “Hey.”
“I thought you were gonna try to sleep.”
“Turns out I’m pretty wired, too. I guess it’s contagious.”
“Want some tea? I can heat up the water.”
“Sure.”
Dorian took a seat at the breakfast nook as I walked over to the stove.
I reached for the canister of teas and turned to him. “Darjeeling or Earl Grey?”
“Actually, got any whiskey? I’ve had that kind of week.”
I couldn’t tell whether he was serious. “Sorry, no.”
“English Breakfast, then?”
“Don’t have that, either.”
“I’ll take the Earl Grey.”
“Coming right up.”
While I prepared his tea and another for myself, I could sense his eyes on me. Especially after tonight’s scare, it comforted me to know I was no longer alone in the house at night. Benjamin was always right next door, but after he and Patsy left for the day, it had just been me.
I slid a mug across the table to Dorian. “What’s been going on that you’d need whiskey at four in the morning? Besides me freaking out over the fire alarm, of course.”
He sighed. “I guess what’s been going on…is the realization that this stay is really not temporary. That I might never be able to go back to my life in Boston. And that my feet may never be big enough to fill my father’s shoes.”
“Maybe you don’t need to fill them. No one should be expected to step into someone else’s life and be perfect at it. All you can do is your best. Find your own way. And if that’s not good enough, then fuck everyone.”
His mouth curved into a smile.
“What?” I asked.
“My mother used to say that. Well, a little more eloquently than ‘fuck everyone.’ She used to say, ‘All you can do is your best. And if you’ve done your best, you should be happy with any outcome.’” He grinned. “I kind of like ‘fuck everyone’ better though.”