Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“What the ever-loving hell were you doing standing in the middle of the road?”
“Catching a taxi.” She cocks her head. “If you were paying attention, you’d have seen my hand raised and everything.”
She’s teasing, the little brat, but for real, what the hell?
She should be with Alister right now, not sitting in the passenger seat of my truck.
“You should really get on the road if we want to beat the evening traffic later,” she suggests.
I just blink at her, and she flicks off her little fur-lined boots, folding her legs beneath her. “Hold on.” I raise my hand, taking a deep breath. “Who told you I was going home?”
“Ari.”
I frown. “And how did Ari know?”
“She talked to Mason.”
“And how exactly did Mason know?”
She shrugs. “Beats me.”
“All right, and how did you know where to find me?”
“Mason has your location.”
“Goddamn, we have some nosy-ass fucking friends, don’t we?”
She laughs at that, and I just…watch her. The way it lights up her eyes, the curve of her lips, the way she nibbles at them as her laughter tapers off. “That we do, Lancaster. Now, are we going to get on the road or what? Because as you can see, I am the hottest of messes.”
Damn straight you are. A beautiful mess.
I clear my throat, looking toward her dorm a moment before facing her again. “I’m staying the whole weekend.”
“Cool.”
“Not coming home till late Sunday night.”
She grabs the blanket I keep in here for her and lays it over her legs. “Perfect, but can we stop for coffee first?”
A laugh leaves me, and I shake my head and lick my lips. “You sure you want to come?”
“Dead-ass.”
“Did you… Have you…”
“Did I, have I…what?” Her eyes narrow slightly.
Talked to Alister?
Obviously, she hasn’t. She definitely wouldn’t be here with me if she had.
Would she?
I bite my damn tongue and decide not to tell her. She’ll find out soon enough anyway. “You don’t even have a bag.”
“Please.” She smirks, this time kicking her feet up on the dash. “I don’t need a bag to go home. I got my phone, which has Apple Pay, and if by some strange coincidence my parents are gone the one weekend I come home, then I’ll just borrow something of yours. Wouldn’t be the first time I wore one of your shirts as a dress.”
“No, it wouldn’t.”
See? Just doing things we’ve been doing for years. All’s good.
She lifts her chin in triumph, tugging on the string of her hoodie.
My eyes fall to her chest. Correction, my hoodie. You know, the one that’s resting against spiky-tipped barbells pierced through her perfectly plump nipples and that has my name and number all over it.
All over her.
She’s officially allowed to keep it. In fact, I insist.
Oh no.
I shift in my seat.
Thank God I’m wearing fucking jeans.
I hold her gaze. “You really want to go home with me?”
“Sure, Lancaster, I guess I’ll go with you. You don’t have to beg.”
My grin grows, and she gives me a playful little glare.
“But only if you get me coffee first.”
A laugh leaves me, and I pull away from the curb.
“One Caramel Cookie Crumble with extra cookie and extra crumble coming right up.”
She smiles and faces forward.
Ten minutes later, when we get into the drive-through line at the coffee shop, she scoots into the middle, and that’s where she stays for the entire drive home.
My heart gives a little thump, like a fist bump from it to me, as a sense of rightness falls over me. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Cameron
“What the hell do you mean, you’re going to the Bahamas?”
My mom laughs in my ear, and my jaw drops.
“Oh my god, it’s starting, isn’t it? I’m an adult child now? Just abandoned. Thrown to the wolves.”
Both Ben and Tisha laugh, and I can tell Brady is dying for me to look at his shit-eating grin.
“Oh, honey, no, don’t be ridiculous.” Mom pauses. “Once you give us a grandbaby, then you can come on vacations with us again.”
“Mom!” Now I’m laughing. “Well, I’ll let you tell my dad that he’ll have to wait a good ten years, if ever, to have his favorite ski partner on the slopes with him again, then.”
“Oh, you’re playing dirty, huh? Bringing out the big guns.”
I smile. “Is Zeus at least in the backyard? He didn’t bark when I knocked.”
“No, he’s been boarded.”
“Boo.” I pout. “Well, I guess I should tell you to have the best time, but next time you’re hopping on a freaking plane, maybe let your daughter know?”
“Like you let us know you’d be driving down a highway all day today?” she teases. “No, honestly, we just got through security and we’re waiting for a spot at the bar. We were going to call you once we got settled, but Ben and Tisha will take care of you.”