Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Hey,” he says, lifting his chin.
“Hey,” I reply, trying to hold back a smile.
He takes a step toward me, slips his hands around my waist, and kisses me on the lips.
“Hi,” I say as he pulls back. The man laughs, giving sound to the same joy I feel in my own heart.
“Let’s go eat. I think we burned off enough calories to order one of everything each.”
My cheeks heat at his reference—in public!—to our marathon sex session last night. I don’t know why. We’re in New York City. No one cares what I did last night, and I’m sure no one can hear us over the beep of horns, the shout of street vendors, and everyone’s earbuds.
He scoops up my hand, and I glance across at him as if to say, Are you actually holding my hand? He grins back, silently affirming, Hell yeah, I am. What you gonna do about it?
I laugh and so does he, and we head to Stranger than Fiction.
Once we’re in line, I say, “Probably best to text me at work or message on my personal email.”
“What? And have you accuse me of playing Candy Crush Saga all day? No way. Lucy Jones, you don’t look at your phone during working hours. If I want to have lunch with you, how would I ever do that?”
I shake my head but can’t wipe the grin off my face.
“What are you ordering?” I ask.
“One of everything,” he answers. “I told you.”
“You are not. There’s no way.”
“Are you daring me?” he asks.
“Absolutely not. If I was going to dare you to do something, it wouldn’t be to overorder at a deli. It would be something far more . . . exciting.”
He raises his eyebrows like only the filthiest thoughts are running through his brain.
“And it wouldn’t involve any nakedness,” I add, narrowing my eyes.
He brings our hands to his mouth and presses a kiss on my knuckles. It’s such a small gesture, but it feels significant. Like all the push and pull between us from before has been forgotten and we’re two entirely different people with each other now.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out with my free hand.
“It’s just from Katherine,” I say. “She’s finished at the wedding place, and they’re heading back to Boston.”
Hunter sighs. “Do you think that’s the end of the endless meetings and wedding decisions? It’s so time consuming.”
“I doubt it’s the end of it,” I reply. “But the wedding is only weeks away. Then it will be over.”
“Then it’s the honeymoon. Then the move. Then she’ll get pregnant.”
“That’s life.”
“Right,” Hunter says. His mood has shifted. He’s developed edges that weren’t there a few minutes ago.
We get to front of the line. Hunter insists on ordering my sandwich and paying, and we grab a table in the little plaza in front of the store.
He very sweetly unpacks my To Grill a Mockingbird chicken club and opens my can of seltzer.
“You’re cute,” I say. “Thank you.”
“You’re cute,” he replies. “Thank you.” He leans forward and places a kiss on my lips, casually, like he does that all the time. I have to bite back a grin.
“Can we take a picture and send it to Katherine?” I ask. “She gave me a hard time while you were getting drinks last night. Says I need to make more time for you, make more of an effort.”
Hunter chuckles. “Sure.” I hold up my phone and shift a little closer to him. I lean into him and say, “Smile!”
He does, but at the last second, turns and presses a kiss to my cheek.
I laugh and bring up the picture. It looks so cute. I’m beaming and Hunter looks moody and brooding and . . . kinda into me.
I send it to Katherine with a note saying we’re having lunch, then I turn my phone to silent. I know she’s going to blow it up, and I don’t want to get into it with her. I just want to enjoy this moment.
“It’s so weird that we work in buildings next door to each other,” he says.
“So weird,” I agree.
“Did you always want to move to New York?” he asks.
I think back. “I’m not sure. I just knew I had to get out of Boston. I wanted to go somewhere that people didn’t know me.”
He narrows his eyes slightly. “You wanted to reinvent yourself?”
“I guess. I love my sister, and she’s my best friend and she’s amazing. But I just wanted to go somewhere where I could be me rather than Katherine’s fuckup of a sister.”
He pulls back. “What? How are you a fuckup?”
“You should have seen me in high school.” I grin at him, but he doesn’t smile back.
“How were you a fuckup? Did you have a drug problem? Did you get into trouble with the police? Did you skip school a lot?”