Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“And then you took her to adopt a cat?”
He nods. “Why are you grinning like that? I know, it’s a stupid job. Rich people are stupid. Well, they’re probably not actually stupid, but they do stupid things. Too much money makes you—”
“Stupid?” I laugh.
“Exactly.”
“Let’s go knock on their door,” I say.
“What?” Flynn’s face sours.
I open my door. “Let’s go say hi.”
“You don’t stop and say hi to your boss.” He turns off the car and jumps out when I close the door, making my way to the sidewalk. “June, I just saw them a little over an hour ago. This is weird and a terrible idea.” I grab her wrist, and she turns toward me.
“They’re just people, Flynn.”
“Rich people.”
“Sad people,” I say.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m off the clock. It’s not my job to inspire anyone at the moment.”
“Kindness isn’t a job. You don’t have to inspire anyone. We’ll just say hi.” I pull out of his hold and continue toward their front door.
“Jesus. This is crazy. What am I supposed to say when Mr. Rawlings answers the door? They might not even be here. Maybe they’ve gone to dinner at some fancy schmancy place.”
“Maybe,” I say before ringing the doorbell. “If that’s the case, then we’ll leave.”
“I think we should break up,” he says with the grumpiest expression.
I giggle until I feel it in my belly, until the front door opens.
The man at the door resembles George Clooney. It’s striking, really. He eyes Flynn with confusion before softening his gaze for me. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi. I’m June, Flynn’s friend. We just happened to be in the neighborhood, so Flynn showed me your house. And I suggested we pop in and say hi.”
He studies us for a few seconds. “Rupert,” he says.
“Rupert, mind if we come in?” I ask. “I’d like to say hi to Callie again. Unless we’re interrupting dinner?”
“No such luck,” he says with a grumble.
“Or we could leave you alone. And I’ll just see you tomorrow,” Flynn says.
“Nonsense.” I grab Flynn’s hand, excited to have an excuse to do so. Then I pull him inside without waiting for the official invitation from Rupert. I love how small my hand feels in his.
“She’s pretty, Flynn,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say as we slip off our shoes. “You have a lovely home.”
“It’s not as nice as my neighbor’s, but I won’t bore you with that story or how his wife hired him a homemaker. Alice, she made me a pie, but I didn’t eat it because I figured it was poisoned.”
Oh my gosh. I love his grumpiness because he’s not that good at it.
“Hello,” Callie says, at the top of the stairs, holding the gray and white kitten. “This is a surprise.” She floats down the marble steps in a satin kimono robe and fuzzy white socks.
“He was here an hour ago. I wouldn’t call it a surprise,” Rupert says. “Well, June is a surprise. Not as surprising as a cat, but still unexpected.”
Callie rolls her eyes.
Rupert returns a grin that’s flirty and confident. Oh, this is fun. I might be a little envious of Flynn’s job. On one hand, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Rupert. Yet he’s also exactly how I imagined.
“What are you two lovebirds up to?” Callie asks.
Heat fills my cheeks when I look at Flynn to see his reaction to “lovebirds.”
“June wanted to stop and say hi,” Flynn says. “Although I’m not sure why.”
Callie reaches the bottom of the stairs and hands her kitten to Flynn, then she puts her arm around my waist. “Because she’s a lovely young lady. Come. Do you like tea?” She leads me past the foyer to the kitchen. “Rupert, why don't you offer Flynn a drink?”
“Because I didn’t hire him to drink with me, and he’s holding that stupid cat.”
“Well, he’s off the clock, so he’s not your employee. And Loki is our new baby.” Callie releases me when we enter the kitchen. “I hope you weren’t too upset by Flynn being late. We didn’t know you had plans. He was organizing cards for me. And before that, he suggested I get a cat, which led to bringing Loki home, much to my husband’s displeasure.”
“He’s a cute kitten. And what’s up with the cards?” I ask as she opens the cabinet door and disappears into the pantry.
“Greeting cards. I used to make my own. I went through a phase of making my own paper, and that led to cards with pressed flowers and seeds. You know, the kind you can plant to grow flowers or a tree?”
“That’s cool. I bet they’re beautiful.” I run my fingertips along the cream marble countertop with gray veins. It’s much thicker than newer granite tops.
“They’re fine. It was just a phase I went through. I’ve been through a lot of phases. If you speak with my husband for more than five minutes, he’ll work my pastimes into the conversation.”