Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
I kiss her neck and slide my hands down her back to grab her ass. “My mom was legal when my dad stuck his dick in her.”
Everleigh giggles. “Don’t say it like that.”
I grin before teasing her earlobe with my teeth.
She grips my hair and pulls her head back just enough to brush her lips against mine. “You should have seen the look on your mom’s face when I said I was your friend, and you invited me to spend the week with you.”
“About that . . .” I stand straight and take a step back before I do something stupid like take off her clothes. “Where did you get this address? Jamie? Maren?”
“Your parents own this property. It’s public record. It’s called the internet, William.”
“You could have texted me.”
“You would have told me to wait a few days. Which, by the way, you didn’t tell me to wait a few days. You told me to come stay for a few days.”
I shake my head, rubbing my hands over my face. “I can’t believe you get paid to help people’s mental health.”
“Most therapists and psychiatrists get therapy. It’s considered self-care. And if I had one, I’d tell them about you. But I don’t, so my flaws go unchecked.” She shrugs with her palms up. “If you want me to go home, I will. But I know you want me to stay until we have sex, then you’ll send me home because you’ll have a dip in testosterone from the oxytocin release during sex, and that will cause a desire to withdraw. That’s why I’m not having sex with you until I’m ready to leave.”
I can’t imagine why she’s still single.
“Then why are you here so early? I only invited you for sex.”
“I thought I could give your mom free therapy. And maybe I can meet your father.”
“My father won’t remember you. His memory is shit.”
Everleigh grins. “Don’t be so sure. I’m pretty unforgettable. And maybe you should leave the psych evaluation to me. Now, show me this fantastic lake view. Then let’s help your mom finish dinner.” She brushes past me toward the door.
I grab her wrist, and we stand idle, backs to each other. No words. Just a pause. My fingers tease her palm. Then I release her, take a breath, and follow her to the main room.
“What were you two doing in there for so long?” Mom asks, chopping a red onion.
“Just talking. No sex until I’m ready to go home,” Everleigh says without the slightest falter in her step as she heads to the covered deck.
I stop and pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Well.” Mom clears her throat. “I like her. A lot.”
I drop my hand to my side with a sigh. “Don’t get too attached. She’s moving to Baltimore.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Everleigh
“Can I ask how old you are? You look too young to be a doctor,” Steffi says as we eat bison burgers and roasted veggies at the table on the deck with the heaters going full blast.
“That’s a great question,” Will says before I can swallow and answer for myself. “Everleigh is almost thirty. She’s a genius. Skipped a bunch of grades.”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
Will eyes me with a tiny scowl as he chews his food. I’m the one who should be scowling. He didn’t text me happy birthday two weeks after he left in August.
“Oh, so you were eighteen when you and Will met? That’s young.” She winks at Will.
I study him, enjoying the misery on his face as he so desperately wants to tell Steffi that I was seventeen and didn’t disclose my age. But then he’d have to include the part where he freaked out over a possible statutory rape charge (because that’s where he gets the real sympathy), which would disclose the fact that we had sex. And he’s not ready to go the distance with that conversation.
“Will said you’re moving to Baltimore. What’s in Baltimore?”
Am I moving? I look at Will, but he keeps his focus on his food.
“I was offered a position at Johns Hopkins. I haven’t taken it yet. But I need to decide soon. Will’s an amazing friend. He just wants to see me live up to my true potential, so that’s why he’s so certain I’ll take the job.” I nudge his leg with my foot, and he relinquishes a quick glance.
“Johns Hopkins sounds like a big deal. Why wouldn’t you take the job?” Steffi asks.
“My mom lives in New York. She’s an artist. I love her to death, but I also love the three-thousand-mile buffer between us.”
Steffi laughs. My comment even draws a soft chuckle from Will.
“I also love Montana. And I have friends here. And as I mentioned earlier, I’m in the process of building a barndominium with a stunning mountain view. I don’t think Baltimore can compare.”
“You could keep your place in Missoula as a vacation home,” Steffi says. “I assume you probably make enough money to own more than one property.”