Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I knew that but…
“Just you and me,” I swore. “We can go anywhere you want.”
She tilted her head. “Anywhere?”
“Anywhere.”
She slowly slipped her legs from my hips, then held the bells out to me. “How about you put these on. I’m going to have to go shower.”
I smoothed my hand down her hair, taming the flyaways as best as I could.
It seemed slightly impossible, though, due to the humidity.
The rain had started to melt the snow thanks to the temperature hitting nearly sixty today, and that’d only ramped up the humidity level to a hundred.
“Did your sister loan you enough clothes?”
“She gave me everything I’ll need,” Calli sighed. “I don’t think they’re loans, either. I think she went out and bought it all. That was what took her so long to get here. I think what happened was she ran to the mall first thing this morning the moment it opened. Then she tore all the tags off and stuffed everything into the suitcase she’d brought with her.”
I dropped my hand from her head and caught her hand before guiding her out of the ash that had once been her house. “She loves you.”
“I know.”
“And she has the money to blow, so let her.”
Calli snorted. “She’s been trying to buy me a new wardrobe since this all happened. I just know that she had a grand time today.”
“I say let her.” I stopped at the carport and said, “I’ll be in in a bit…” I studied her. “Do you think you can do a hairstyle that’ll survive the bike? I’d love to take it out since it feels so nice out.”
She thought about it for a long second before saying, “I think I can make it work.”
And she did.
Forty-five minutes later, she came out of the bathroom fully dressed and ready to go. She also looked killer in a pair of high-waisted black pants, a red sequined belt, and a red long-sleeved top that covered everything from wrist to neck. Her hair was up in a sleek ponytail on the top of her head, and she reached for the sweatshirt on the bed next to my hip.
“What’s your plan, Stan?” I asked her.
“I’m going to throw this over everything. Tie the hoodie closed. And bring a pair of jeans so that I can change into them.” She frowned. “I don’t have any boots, though. So it’ll be the heels that Searcy bought me.”
“I’ll take care of your feet while you’re at the interview. I’m going to run a few places so that we can go straight to eat.”
“You don’t even know where we’re going yet.” She pulled the hoodie into place. “What if it’s right next to the boot place?”
“Where are we going, Cal?” I asked.
She leaned forward, the hoodie pulled so tight over her head and tied so tightly that the only thing that showed on her face was her eyes, nose, and mouth. “It’s a surprise.”
“Then I’ll get you the boots while you’re interviewing,” I said. “I’ll just be right down the road and can get you anytime.”
Plus, I had one more present to get her, and I didn’t want her there with me until I had it in my hands. “Do you want to open your gift that Apollo brought over?”
“You had time to get me a gift today?” she asked.
“I had it delivered to the clubhouse because you’d started opening my mail.” I chuckled.
She threw herself into my arms, and I had no choice but to fall backward onto the bed, bringing her with me.
She circled her arms around my neck and brought her face closer to mine. “You know, I feel a lot of judgment coming off of you right now.”
“Me? Judgmental?” I joked. “Never.”
She ran her nose over my own before pulling back. “Of course I want to open my gift.”
I picked her up and carried her into the living room where I’d unboxed it and left it sitting on the counter.
I sat her directly next to it and said, “I used to watch you at the bathroom counter when you did your makeup for the day. Your bathroom was directly across from my laundry room. I could see your vanity area, and I used to watch you go back and forth between whatever video you were watching and the mirror. So I got this so you can watch both.”
She picked up the box and blinked. “I had no clue they even made mirrors that allowed you to Bluetooth and screen mirror!”
I shrugged. “I was actually looking for a little sticky case or something similar that you could stick to the mirror. But then this thing popped up and I thought maybe it would work out better for you.”
She set the box down on the counter and walked directly to me, wrapping her arms around my body. “That’s so thoughtful.”