Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Within minutes a couple of beers were placed in front of them, and Doc moved them to a corner of the bar. There were a lot of couples as well as singles enjoying the Valentine’s Day rituals.
She tilted her head back as she watched Doc take a swig of his beer. For a long time, she had silently believed him to be one of the sexiest men in town. She loved an older man, and her type had not changed in the last thirteen years, or even longer. Since she was a teenager, she was always more attracted to older, mature men.
She took a long swig of her beer, and since she had noticed Doc a few years ago, there had been a lot of moments where she’d just watched him. Kind of like a ridiculous crush. Not for a second did she imagine she’d be spending a Valentine’s Day with him.
****
Doc didn’t mind the bar, or a party, or having fun for some lame-ass event. He’d have gladly taken Maeve wherever she wanted to go. She was absolutely stunning in the dress she wore that clung to her body, enhancing the curves she possessed, making it impossible for him to even think straight. She was a stunner, no doubt about it.
Tipping his beer to his lips, he watched Maeve as she watched the bar. It was a little crazy as he stood in front of her, with her back against the wall. He had a hand on her waist, and he couldn’t take his gaze away from her. For several months now, he’d been drawn to her.
At the Easter Fair last year, he’d been able to spend quite a bit of time just watching her as she painted kids’ faces in any form they wanted. She took her time, which made some of the parents irritable, as they wanted it to be slapped on as quickly as possible.
She was an artist. Of course, he knew she was a makeup artist, but this was different. She took pride in her work, even at a silly town event where no one cared. He noticed her attention to detail.
All he had to do was think about her sister, Eden, to know that Maeve always gave her all in everything she did. She had taken care of her sister, because there had been no one to step up for the two of them.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked.
“Hell, yeah, I thought you would never ask.”
She put her beer bottle down, and he placed his beside hers. They wouldn’t be drinking out of them again.
Maeve took his hand and led him onto the dance floor, and it was an upbeat kind of music he often associated with the summer, that just had people pumping to the beat. Just as he and Maeve were about to join in, though, the song magically changed to a slow one that required couples to come together.
She chuckled and ran her hands up his chest and circled them around his neck. “Do we think that is a coincidence, or someone tampering with the music?” she asked.
“Just a coincidence. There are too many couples here.”
“Unless someone is following all of them.” She chuckled. He kept his hands on her hips, and he couldn’t help but massage them. The temptation to sink down, cup her ass, and draw her closer was strong, but he resisted the urge. He was not some teenage boy, but a full-grown-ass man who knew what he wanted. Maeve was a temptation. She drove him crazy. He felt his dick start to harden at just how close she was to him.
“I like this,” she said. “You’re a good dancer.”
“You’re not too bad yourself.”
She giggled. “You know, Charlotte is a good kid.”
He sighed.
“What’s that heavy sigh for?” Maeve asked.
“She’s ... not got any sense of direction at all. She is coasting through the last few months.” He was worried about his daughter.
School hadn’t been easy for Charlotte. It didn’t help that she refused to have him get involved with the people that bullied her. He’d watched his little girl go from a confident firecracker to always second-guessing every decision she made. When she came home with a black eye and a whole bunch of lies, he wanted to deal with it, but Nancy always told him to back off. If their little girl wanted him to handle it, she would tell him.
This is why he fucking hated and loved having a family. He loved his family, because Charlotte was his kid, and from the moment she was placed in his arms as a baby, he’d loved that little girl. But he hated the fact they wouldn’t allow him to protect them. So, he stepped back and let Nancy deal with everything, or not deal with it. He watched his daughter withdraw into a shell that never should have been fucking built.