Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Jackson is hounding me, wanting to know when I'll be back. I've just been blowing him off. Frankly, I'd rather be right here than anywhere. I'd rather be in her bed, learning every little thing about her, than in San Francisco. She's starting to feel like home to me, in a way nothing has since my mom died.
It worries me that she's avoiding talking about the building, though. I've tried to bring it up a few times, but she finds a way to distract me every single time, almost like she's afraid that talking about it will ruin what's growing between us. That worries the fuck out of me because she isn't someone who avoids problems.
I find Jasmine behind the counter, watching me like she'd rather choke me with my tie than let me take her best friend to lunch. She does not like me much, or at all, really.
"She's not here," she says before I can say anything. "She ran to pick up lunch for you guys. She said that you're supposed to wait."
"Do you mind?" I ask, not entirely sure she'll agree. When we cross paths, she usually glares for a while and then finds somewhere else to be.
She just grunts in response, lifting her book like it's a blockade meant to halt any further conversation. Clearly, she's slower to forgive than Lilah. Not that I really blame her or anything. I appreciate that she's protective of her friend.
"You know, I don't want to run you guys out of business," I murmur, trying to soften her up a little. "That was never my intention. If she makes a bid on the store, I won't try to outbid her."
I'm not sure when I decided that. Somewhere between kissing her for the first time and eating her on the sofa after dinner the other night, I think. Hell, maybe I decided it on day one. I don't know. But it feels like the right thing to do. If she bids, we'll go with Plan B or Plan C, or whichever plan keeps her in my life. I need her more than I need this building.
I floated the idea with the mayor and city council during our meeting this morning. They aren't entirely opposed to making everything at street-level office space, with the floors above reserved for condos. Frankly, I think they'd rather do it that way, even if it means keeping Lilah's building intact. It'll generate more foot traffic and more revenue.
I still have to get investors on board, which means they can still sink the idea. But I'm determined not to let that happen.
Jasmine lowers the book, glaring at me over the top. "She isn't putting in a bid."
"What?" I blink, sure I misunderstood.
"I said, she isn't putting in a bid. You're going to take this place from her, and she's going to let you," Jasmine says, still glaring at me. "Why do you think she's avoiding the subject? She can't afford the price you set. If she could, she would have bought it already."
I just stare at her, my heart pounding so hard it's a dull roar in my ears. Lilah isn't bidding on the building. Jesus Christ.
"What about her father?" I'm not even finished asking the question before Jasmine is shaking her head at me.
"She won't ask him for the money," she says. "This is her dream. She thinks she should be able to make it work on her own, without asking him for more than he's already given her. She's stubborn like that." Jasmine eyes me critically. "You should know that about her if she matters to you at all. She never listens to reason, and she wants to do everything on her own. No one is ever allowed to take care of her because she's always the one taking care of everyone else. She's always been that way."
"She matters to me," I rasp.
"We'll see," her best friend mutters. She falls silent for a moment and then mutters a soft curse. "She likes you enough to risk breaking her heart when you take this place from her. But that is what'll happen, Lincoln. Even if she won't admit it, I know her, and I know how much of her dream is tied to this building. Ever since she found this place, the dream has been about opening her store right here, where a bookstore has stood since the building went up in the 1930s. It's going to feel like the biggest betrayal in the world if she falls for you before you take it. If you care for her as much as you say you do, don't put her through that."
Fuck.
I jerk my chin in a nod, my throat tight. Because she's right, goddammit all. If Lilah falls for me and I take the building anyway, it'll break her heart. Maybe she'll pretend she's fine with it, but she won't be, not really, not when this place means so much to her. I'll just be another asshole like the prick back in college, only it'll hurt her a helluva lot more this time.