Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“I love how close your office is to the barn.” The casual lick of his lips threatens to have me crawling into his lap. “Means I can swing by anytime before or after pracky.”
And so can I.
Could I.
You know…if I let this…go anywhere like my soul is screaming I should.
“Bronny actually is the reason I’m late.” A small cringe is flashed. “He jus’ up and moved in with me for the rest of the summer.”
“What?” Peering up at him is attached to thoughtlessly pushing myself into him. “What happened?!”
It’s impossible to deny the dark, delicious grumble that brushing my tits against him conjures yet thankfully, not impossible for him to continue. “He did some dumb shit to try to impress a girl.”
“Aw.”
“No, aw, would’ve been playin’ Peter Gabriel on a Bluetooth speaker on her front porch while she watched through her Ring camera, not breakin’ into some rich dude’s backyard to prove what a real man you’re not.”
One giant gasp is followed by me hissing, “Noooo…”
“Unfortunately, yeah.” He uses his free hand to reach for the small menu that’s parked beside the candle decoration. “So, Grams – the woman primarily responsible for raisin’ him since our mom died a few years ago – had Dubs – my best friend that you didn’t see get married – fly him out to me for punishin’.”
“Being with you is a punishment?”
“Only if you ask me nicely, Gillybean,” Thayne teases on a sexy wink.
Heat sprawls across my face as I force myself to bite the inside of my cheek.
I don’t know that I would like that.
I also don’t know that I wouldn’t.
I do, however, know that I have no clue how you even ask for that, let alone for it nicely.
“The idea is to treat Dalvegan like his own personal penalty box. Separate him from the opposin’ team, give him time to think about his choices, and ultimately, provide space for him to cool the F-town down.”
Once more, I snicker at the music reference, shake my head, and coo, “You love all music, don’t you?”
“No,” he says without hesitation, eyes lingering in mine, “but I think there’s somethin’ to love in all music.”
His insightful retort isn’t presented long to reflect on courtesy of a long haired, long legged, brunette placing cocktail napkins down on the table while greeting, “Evening, Groffee.”
“Breve,” he politely replies, tone nor body language changing, to my surprise. “This is Gillian.”
“Gilly’s fine,” leaves me more meekly than intended.
“You can call me Caffè Breve or Breve for short.” Her bright brown eyes find mine when she finishes her rearranging of the objects on the table. “Groffee always sits in my section.”
“She’s the only one who works here that seems to know the difference between ABBA and Air Supply.”
My purse free hand lands theatrically on top of my heart. “Those are vastly different.”
“And now you know why we’re sittin’ here.”
Light laughs are attached to her attention diverting back to me. “What can I get started for you, Gilly?”
“Give us a few, please,” Thayne respectfully requests. “I wanna be the one to let her know what she’s in for.”
“You mean other than a good time?” She sweetly sasses in return.
“Obvs,” is announced in a mirthful tone that feels friendly but not flirty.
Pleasant yet not provocative.
Cordial however kindly cocky.
How is that last one even possible outside of T.V.?!
Breve waggles her dark brows at us, playfully spins off to check on another table, and allows my date to clue me in on what to expect during our outing. “They’ve got a full bar, but water is the only non-alcoholic thing you can order without coffee. And they do desserts,” his finger lightly taps the tiny selection, “but like their specials and their password, they change daily.”
There’s no stopping my eyebrows from shooting upward. “Intense.”
“Unique,” Thayne smoothly counters. “Each night you come in, they want you to have a different experience, which mirrors-”
“What happens every time you have a cup of coffee,” I finish for him. “Sure, you have your basic coffee profile; however, depending on where the beans are from, what they traveled with, where they sat pre utilization, how long they sat, how they were ground, when they were ground, who grounded them, and of course what – if anything – you add to it, will all ultimately effect your consumption journey; therefore making every cup-”
“Its own one-of-a-kind adventure.” One slow, tongue swipe of his lips is executed alongside his face craning closer to mine. “Exactly like bein’ with you, Gillybean.”
Blushing has me burying my face downward as well as my gaze.
Okay, I am so ill-prepared to deal with this in the real world.
If this were one of my spy shows, I would let him know that I know he’s really a con man here to steal my top secret plans that allow me to monopolize the dental industry and that all this flattery is to distract me from his main mission, or if this were one of my telenovelas I would tell him I know that he’s love bombing me only to get close enough to his actual love interest which would be my brother, a man he’s had a crush on since they were seven and playing in his father’s rose garden.