Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
The corner of my mouth lifts. “I don’t mind, but whatever you do, don’t kiss Rachel.”
“Why?”
“The last thing I need is the media thinking you’re romantically involved with Rachel.”
Because then it will look weird as fuck when I eventually make our relationship public.
That’s if I get a chance with Nova.
“What’s wrong with that?” she asks.
Unable to tell her the truth until I’m sure about her feelings for me, I say, “I don’t want to shine a spotlight on Rachel.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.”
“So if you get the urge to kiss someone, just lay one on me,” I tease her before I continue to walk toward the SUV.
Nova lets out a nervous-sounding chuckle, and when she reaches the SUV, Rachel says, “I’ll sit in the back with the girls. You take the front passenger seat.”
I notice Nova’s cheeks are flushed pink as she gets into the vehicle. Walking to the driver’s side, I glance at the other SUV the guards will take before I slide in behind the steering wheel.
“It’s been a while since we all went out together,” Rachel mentions as I start the engine.
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Lainey adds her two cents.
As I drive behind the guards’ SUV, I look at Nova, who seems very nervous.
I’m seventy percent sure she doesn’t view me as a brother. Yesterday, her pulse was racing when I touched her wrist. I pretended I didn’t notice when she yanked away from me, and it set her at ease again.
My love language is touch, and for the most part, it looks like she’s not opposed to it. Every now and then, I catch her looking at me, and she blushes. A lot.
I have to admit her being all innocent and blushing is one hell of a turn-on for me.
But I’ll take it slow so I don’t overwhelm her because the last thing I want to do is to scare off Nova. And I want to be sure about my own feelings toward her, seeing as a relationship between us will affect everyone around us.
“What do you think of LA, Nova?” I ask.
She lets out a chuckle. “I haven’t seen much of it.”
“We can go for a drive after the fundraiser,” Rachel mentions.
I look at my sister in the rearview mirror. “That’s if you’re not tired.”
“Then you can just drop me off at home and take Nova and Lainey out.”
Nova glances over her shoulder. “We’ll see how things go. We might all be tired and end up watching a movie.”
Lainey looks at Porsha. “Do you think your mom will let you watch a movie with us?”
Porsha shakes her head. “We’re going to visit my cousins later. I’m meeting my parents at the bake sale.”
“I wish I had cousins,” Lainey mutters.
My eyes flick to Nova, and when I imagine having kids with her, the corner of my mouth lifts because I know she’ll be an amazing mother.
When we pull up to the school, I find a parking spot next to the guards. Nova opens her door, but I quickly reach over and place my hand on her thigh. “Wait until the guards give us the sign that they’re ready.”
“Okay.”
Tyler comes to open my door while Noah, Ryan, and Eddie open the others.
I grab a pair of sunglasses from the compartment between the seats, and as I climb out, I put them on.
“Eddie, stay with Lainey,” I order. “Noah, you’re with Rachel and Nova.”
They all nod, and we each grab a box of cookies. As we walk toward the baseball field, where all the tables and gazebos are set up, Tyler takes the lead, and Ryan sticks to the right of me.
“Oh my God!” a woman screams, and I let out a groan. “It’s Easton Rowe.”
It always amazes me how quickly a group of fans forms. It’s never just one at a time.
Within seconds, they flank us from all sides, screaming my name. The guards do their work and keep them back while Tyler shouts, “No signatures or photos . . . Give Mr. Rowe and his family privacy . . . No photos . . . Stay back.”
“Holy crap,” Nova whispers behind me. “This is insane.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Rachel tells her. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone and keep walking.”
Sylvia’s probably going to lose her shit when she hears about this.
Finally reaching the table, I move behind it so I can use it as a barrier between me and the crowd.
“Just one photo, Easton,” a fan begs. “Pleeeeease!”
I take a step back so Nova and Rachel can unpack the boxes, then Rachel shouts, “Unless you’re buying cookies, please leave. My daughter would like to start her sale.”
Just like I thought, they all line up to purchase cookies.
Nova moves backward to place an empty box beneath the table and accidentally bumps into me. I grab hold of her hips to keep her standing, and it has half the women in the crowd screaming their heads off.