Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
At that very moment, she looked over, and our eyes met. Even from where I stood, I could see hers were blue. Then she smiled—and my entire world shifted.
I started to make my way toward her, only to hear Gary rushing to stand up and follow.
“Jesus, Ladd, give me a warning, at least!” Gary hissed as he ran up next to me.
Before he even had a chance to introduce us, I walked up to her and smiled. Reaching out my hand, I said, “I’m Ladd Wilde.”
She smiled even bigger as she reached for my hand and gave it a good firm shake. “Vivianne Pennington.”
“Vivianne, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
The two women she was with giggled.
Vivianne, however, simply frowned thoughtfully. “It depends. Are you going to wear that cowboy hat?”
I grinned. “Would you want me to?”
“Yes, I would.”
Winking, I replied, “Then I’ll wear it.”
“In that case, I’d love to have dinner with you, Ladd.”
I got her information, and we agreed on a time for me to pick her up. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I took a few steps backward and said, “I’ll see you at six tonight.”
Her hand lifted in a wave while she bit down on her lower lip. Turning, I headed back to my brother, who stood there with a smirk on his face.
As I grew closer, he asked, “Well? What happened?”
I grinned. “She obviously didn’t have a boyfriend since she accepted my offer of a date tonight, and I just fell in love, little brother.”
David closed his eyes and groaned. “Dad isn’t going to like this one bit.”
“Probably not,” I agreed before walking toward my truck. “I need to go find something to wear tonight.”
Laughing, I heard David ask, “Did I hear that right?”
Gary sighed. “We just lost another one, I’m afraid.”
“How does this look?” I asked David, who was sitting at the end of my bed. He’d moved in with me, Gary, and our other friend, Jack, last summer. We were renting a four-bedroom house right off campus, and when our previous roommate graduated and moved out, David asked if he could move in. It was perfect timing as he was starting his freshman year and didn’t want to have to live in a dorm; the cost to rent the one room was cheaper.
“Did you really ask me that?” my brother questioned, nearly missing the small football he’d been throwing up in the air.
“I did ask you that. I want to make a good impression on Vivianne.”
He frowned. “What is it about this girl that has you all up in knots? I’ve never known you to go out of your way to impress someone.”
I shrugged, then turned back and looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing jeans, a white button-down shirt, and a tie. My white cowboy hat sat on my dresser. I planned on taking Vivianne to my mother’s favorite Italian restaurant. Anytime my parents came to visit, Mom always wanted to go there to eat.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Marco’s Italian Restaurant.”
A gasp came from my younger brother, and I glanced at him. He wore a surprised expression.
“What’s wrong?”
He slowly shook his head as he said, “You’re taking her to Mom’s place?”
“No, I’m taking her to Marco’s Italian Restaurant.”
“That’s her place. Mom’s! What in the hell kind of spell did this girl put on you?”
I laughed. “I’m pretty sure our mother doesn’t hold rights to any restaurant. Besides, it’s a nice place and I think she’ll like it.”
David shrugged. “If she doesn’t hate Italian food.”
“Who doesn’t like Italian food?”
“Maybe Vivianne doesn’t.”
I waved my hand to dismiss him. “Everyone likes Italian food.”
David stood. “You look good, by the way. Stop messing with your hair, you’re going to be wearing a cowboy hat.”
“Not in the restaurant.”
His shoulders rose and fell on a sigh. “Ladd, just go get the girl before you’re late.”
Thirty minutes later, I found out that Vivianne Pennington, the girl I was pretty sure I had fallen in love with at first sight, did indeed love Italian food…and Marco’s was her favorite restaurant.
And I just fell in love a lot harder.
Vivianne
The moment I saw Ladd Wilde earlier today, something inside of me came to life. He was beyond handsome, and it was evident from the tight jeans and T-shirt he was wearing that he was physically fit. He didn’t have one of those overly built bodies, but he had just enough muscles to make a girl look twice. When he walked over to me, his blue eyes were made even bluer by the white cowboy hat. I actually felt my heart race in my chest as my friends gasped and shrieked when he headed our way.
“I still can’t believe he just walked over like that and asked you out!” Mollie said, while she twisted my hair up and pinned it in place. “Are you sure you don’t want me and Luke to join you?”