Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Ian looks as big and bold here as he does at his place. He doesn't care that my IKEA furniture is nothing like the much nicer furniture at his home. He's right where he belongs—with me. I’m getting used to being with him night after night. I’m not going to lie; I’m freaking addicted.
I sink into him, curling my legs under me, fitting my body against his as he flips through TV channels and dismisses each one. He’s not interested in the rest of the world either, and that calms me in a way I didn't expect. Maybe we don’t need to know everything right now. Maybe we just need to know each other.
“See? It’s not a problem switching back and forth between our places.” He brushes his mouth across the top of my head.
“Mm,” I murmur. “This isn’t so bad.”
“We can make it bad,” he says, that heat rising in his voice again.
And suddenly it is bad, my IKEA couch wasn’t made for the workout we end up giving it. And my face heats thinking about what my elderly neighbors might’ve heard. Thank God, Eloise is at her parents’ house for dinner night, but poor Winnie is curled up in my bedroom pouting over her abandonment.
The next morning, I stumble out the front door, already running late, and find a note taped to my front door.
We’re old, not deaf!
My face heats as I walk down the hallway. Maybe I need to suggest we stay at his home and just bring Winnie there with us. I just hope my neighbors don’t spread this around town.
As I drive to school, I realize I want to spend every single night with Ian. I want to wrap myself up in him until there’s no part of me that isn't him, no part of him that isn't me.
He's right. We are the talk of the town, and I don’t give a flying fig.
It’s Saturday night and rain drives hard against the window of the diner. Ian’s got me pinned under his all-consuming gaze, holding my hand and my heart with equal determination.
The world outside blurs, streaked with water from the late-evening rain. Ian’s fingers wrap around mine, sending lightning-bolt tingles through my arm as his eyes bore into me.
It's been weeks of blissful, cozy nights spent in his arms. My place, his place. It doesn’t matter.
"Move in with me,” he blurts out the moment the waitress walks away with our orders. “I want to spend every night with you wrapped in my arms," he says, like every wish I've ever had.
My heart thunders, time folding in on itself until there is only Ian, only now, only his unflinching gaze holding me in place. Only my stupid, perfect mouth finally forming words. “Yes, I’ll move in.”
I didn’t expect to get here so soon, melting like putty under Ian's icy-blue stare, but it feels like we’ve known each other our entire lives.
The next morning, I’m sitting at the small breakfast bar in my apartment. The bracelet dangles delicately on my wrist, its charms clinking softly with each nervous movement of my fingers.
The last time Eloise saw me fidget with it this much was two years ago during our college days, when caffeine had fueled our late-night study sessions and sleep was a distant luxury.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I muster up the courage and blurt out, "I'm moving in with Ian." Her eyebrows lift slightly, a subtle arch that hints at mild curiosity rather than genuine surprise. Her nod is knowing, as if she had already anticipated this moment.
"I figured," Eloise says, rolling her eyes playfully, a gesture that reassures me she isn’t bothered by my announcement.
"How'd you guess?" I ask, genuinely curious about her intuition.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out," she replies with a smirk. "You’ve met each other's parents, you’ve been spending every night with him for weeks, and you’re even willing to share Winnie’s attention with him.” The list of clues she rattles off is indeed quite telling.
I sigh, acknowledging how transparent I must have been. “Oof.”
Eloise grins at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’m actually looking forward to having the apartment all to myself,” she confesses. “It’s time for me to be a big girl, too.”
“I hope you find Mr. Right soon,” I suggest, trying to be encouraging.
“Not happening in this lifetime,” she declares, shaking her head with such fervor that her hair swings around her face.
Famous last words. The thought lingers in the air between us like a shared secret neither of us is quite ready to voice.
As I open my eyes, a contented smile spreads across my face. Sage nestles closer to me, her gentle sighs whispering through her sleep. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of chaos, with boxes piled high as we moved her in and both of us juggling hectic work schedules.