Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Did the dog have a place setting, do you think?”
“Knowing Melanie, he probably did.”
“How do you know her?” I ask.
He shrugs. “How do any of us know anyone? She’s always been in my parents’ circle.” His mood has shifted, and he’s turned quite gloomy.
“Does she upset you?”
He pulls in a breath. “No, that’s not it.” He reaches for my hand across the table. “I suppose I was just mentally pulled back to my responsibilities here in New York. And I’d rather be all about you.”
I smile. Jack’s charming and it’s a really nice thing to say. But it’s also not realistic. The two of us can’t survive in a bubble, shutting out the rest of the world. Life doesn’t work like that.
“Jack Alden?”
A shrill voice comes from behind Jack, and he closes his eyes in a long blink. I glance up, and a woman is looking between me and him, a huge grin on her face. She’s about my age. Maybe a little younger. And she is beautiful. Her glossy brown hair is up in a ponytail and her face doesn’t look overly made up. She’s got a hint of lip gloss and some blush, but if you didn’t look too carefully, she could pass for just being super-healthy or maybe having just finished a light jog.
“Excuse me,” Jack mumbles to me, and he stands as the woman gets to our table. “Pippa. How lovely to see you.” He greets her with a kiss on the cheek.
She glances at me, obviously expecting an introduction.
“This is my girlfriend, Iris Wilde.”
Pippa’s smile falters, just as mine does.
Girlfriend? We hadn’t discussed being each other’s… I mean, we haven’t discussed anything about labels. But Jack didn’t introduce me to Melanie as his girlfriend. What’s changed?
“How wonderful to meet you, Iris,” Pippa says. “Are you from New York?”
I don’t know much about New York society, but I’ve gathered enough from my limited encounters that she’s not just asking about the geographic location of my birth.
“Colorado,” I say.
“Fantastic.” Her smile widens, like she’s trying to make sure she doesn’t show what she’s feeling. “Jack, we must grab a drink sometime. I can get you caught up on all the gossip.”
“Any plans for today?” I ask her. I may not have known Jack long, but I know him well enough to understand that he doesn’t want to get caught up on gossip. Maybe a drink with Pippa isn’t out of the question, but gossip? It’s really not how Jack rides. Is it?
“Just brunch with a girlfriend and then some shopping. What are your plans? Are you in New York long?”
“We’re both going back to Colorado this afternoon,” Jack answers.
Pippa lets out a half laugh. “Really, Jack. I never had you down for being outdoorsy.” He just nods simply. “Anyway,” Pippa says. “I can see Charlotte, so I must go. So lovely to meet you, Iris. And, Jack—let’s catch up properly.”
She waves and heads over to the other side of the restaurant.
Jack sits, and I can’t help wonder how long it will be until we’re interrupted again.
“Seems like New York is a small town,” I say, grinning at him.
“I never thought about it, but I guess it is in a way. In lots of ways, actually. I went to school with Pippa’s brother.”
“Did you use to date?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No.” He pauses. “But…”
“You’ve slept with her. She wants to date you. But you’re not that into her.”
He picks up a menu. “Do you know what I’m about to order, or do your mind-reading capabilities only extend so far?”
I grin. “I think you’re going to go for the schnitzel.”
He’s definitely not going to order the schnitzel.
He looks right at me, his eyes narrowed. He’s trying to figure out whether I’m messing with him. Of course I’m messing with him.
“You’re going to get the salmon,” I concede. “I think I’ll do the same.”
He shakes his head. “Have we known each other our entire lives?”
“It feels like it,” I reply.
He eyes me over the top of his menu, a smile flickering at the edges of his mouth, and he slides his leg between mine.
He’s not the Jack that Pippa knows. Not really. Not deep down inside. He’s the Jack who’s with me now in this bubble—me, the girl from Star Falls, Colorado.
The problem is, bubbles burst, and I’m not sure we can exist outside it.
TWENTY-SIX
Iris
New York was a twenty-four-hour whirlwind that passed so fast it might have been a dream. Now it’s back to the real world. Or my real world, at least. And that means early starts in a barn behind my computer.
Even though I manage all the financial and administrative parts of Wilde’s Farm, it’s my dad’s farm. It’s always going to be my dad’s farm.
Until it’s Bray’s.
Even if the ownership deed says Bray and I own it fifty-fifty, I’m never going to see it as mine. That’s just how it is. That doesn’t mean I don’t want it to succeed. I know my dad dismissed Jack’s idea about freezing and branding fruit, but I can’t just abandon the idea. It’s bold and it’s a risk, and the idea is a good one. But my dad has shut down the idea and Bray doesn’t seem interested. But I still have hope that they’ll understand it could be the best thing we ever did.