Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
I took a sip of coffee to cover my smirk. Annie always had a way with words.
The sound of the bell over the door ringing caught Davis’s attention. His expression changed as he looked over my shoulder and whistled low under his breath. “Wow. I’d father her kids any day. Or have fun trying.”
I glanced over my shoulder and frowned when I saw who he was referring to. Kassie had walked in, holding a huge box of pies. The man at the counter took them from her then kissed her cheek, and our waitress hugged her.
I remembered this was the place Kassie baked pies for, which meant our waitress was the owner. Kassie said she worked harder than anyone and waited tables every morning since they were so busy. I assumed the massive man was her husband.
Kassie looked pretty today. More than pretty. Her hair hung down her back in long, thick waves, glinting red the way it always had under the lights. Strawberry blond, she called it. I always called it sexy. She wore a pair of fitted jeans and a loose deep green sweater that hung off one shoulder. She was breathtaking.
And I hated that Davis had noticed.
He caught my frown. “You know her?”
“Yes.”
She headed toward the booth behind us, stopping in surprise when she saw me. “Oliver?”
“Morning.”
“I didn’t hear you up and about.” Then her cheeks flushed, as if realizing how that sounded. Intimate. Close.
“I meant, the floors upstairs often creak,” she added.
“Ah. Must be my ability to walk on water.”
She laughed, which made her even prettier.
“How’s the foot this morning?” I inquired.
“Better,” she assured me. “Really.”
Davis looked between us, then stuck out his hand. “Davis.”
She shook his hand. “Um, Kassie. Oliver’s, ah, landlady.”
“Oh,” he said, stretching out the word.
Our waitress returned, sliding heaping plates in front of us. “Eat up, boys. Kassie, I’ll get you coffee. John will join you, and I’ll pop back to discuss next week’s pie needs. The movie company contacted me about adding desserts, so we need to talk.”
Davis cleared his throat. “That would be me. I’m the movie company.”
“Oh.” She offered her hand. “I’m Quinn.”
“Nice to meet you.”
I didn’t want to be left out. “I’m Oliver.”
Quinn lifted her eyebrows slowly. “Ah,” she said. “The famous Oliver. I thought it was you, but I didn’t want to bother. Love your movies.”
“Thanks. Love your omelets.”
“A mutual admiration society,” another voice spoke, and I looked behind Quinn to the massive stranger I had spotted earlier. He held out his big paw. “Oliver, it’s been a long time.”
Seeing him up close, I recognized his face. “John Elliott.” I grabbed his hand and pumped it hard. “How the hell are you?”
“Good. I’m good. Just having breakfast before heading to the fields. No one beats my Quinn’s cooking.”
I introduced Davis to him, and Quinn grinned widely. “I hoped to be an extra. John too.”
Davis chuckled. “I’ll make sure you get in. I could probably use you as one of the hands, John. You look the part.”
“Oh yes,” Quinn said, looking pleased. “His muscles have muscles. He’d look so good on film.”
John laughed, draping a heavy arm around her waist and pulling her close, dropping a kiss to her head. “Enough, darlin’. Let them eat their breakfast. Kassie, I’ll get the other box from your car.”
“Thanks.”
Davis smiled at her, leaning his arm across the booth. “What about you, Kassie? You want to be an extra? I can put in a good word,” he teased.
“Oh, I’m not sure.”
A card appeared in his hand. “Call me if you change your mind.”
“Um, thanks.”
She slid into the booth behind us, and we started to eat our breakfast. John returned, sitting across from her, and Quinn joined them for brief intervals. Davis and I discussed the character and some of my thoughts. We talked about the shooting schedule. He pushed away his plate, waiting as I finished the stack of pancakes that had come with the meal. He leaned close, his voice low.
“I assume from the tension I’m feeling between you and your landlady and the way you keep staring at her, you no longer need another place to stay?”
“I’m not—” I cut myself off. I had stared at her a lot, although I thought I’d done it covertly. She was irresistible. Smiling and laughing one moment. Frowning and serious the next. Wrinkling her nose in distaste. Shaking her finger in mock severity at John, who ignored her. Scolding Quinn about working too hard. And meeting my stare more than once with a shy smile, her gaze often skidding away if our eyes held too long.
“No. I’m good.” I sipped my coffee. “And there is nothing between us. Old friends.”
“So if she chose to use that number and I asked her out, you would…”
My hands clenched into fists under the table, but I forced myself to remain calm. “She’s a grown woman. She can see or do anything she likes.”