Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“I’ll give in on the hotel room if you agree to sleep in the spare bedroom with me. It seems too disruptive for you to take the living room while I have the entire bedroom to myself. I haven’t seen her couch, but I know you’re too big for it. You won’t be comfortable.”
“I’ll be fine,” I murmured, happy for the chance to stare openly at him. Other than the side of his face being distorted by being smushed into the pillow, I enjoyed the scenery.
“We’re full circle. And you won’t be fine,” Dash countered. “You take the bed. I’ll sleep on this air mattress.” We’d been quiet, talking at a whisper or little above, but that sweet guy caused me to burst out with an involuntary bark of laughter. He brought his hand to my mouth, shushing me. His gaze flitted to the hall where Scott had taken one of the two bedrooms, then down the other direction where my mom had taken the second bedroom. “Stop laughing. I mean it. I’ll sleep on the air mattress.”
“No, you won’t. It’s a ploy to get me in there with you.”
He pulled his hand from my mouth, and I got a critical stare.
“Pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?” Dash gave up the pretense of staying away and inched closer. “Besides, you gave me ninety days.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “It’s not going to happen for us if we don’t share space.”
He wasn’t wrong, and it wasn’t taking ninety days. More like one day. I draped my arm around his waist, wanting the kiss he hinted at more than I wanted anything else, but he was right, I was tired and needed sleep.
“A small goodnight kiss,” Dash urged.
I met him halfway. A hair’s breadth apart, I whispered, “Thank you for today.”
“You’re welcome.” His breath coated my face, driving me forward to capture his lips with mine. He tasted so damn good, making my dreams into reality once again.
Dash honored his word and kept the kiss small. As he pulled away, his warm palm came to my cheek. His skilled thumb swept over my jaw. “Sleep, big guy. Tomorrow’s coming.”
I fell asleep with the taste of Dash on my lips.
Mobile, Alabama
“You’re a crybaby,” Beau said.
Hmm. I felt his playful gaze directed at me but didn’t turn to look. I drove, and Beau acted as our tour guide as we made our way to the legendary Dog River. The place where he spent his happier childhood years.
“About what this time?” I asked, taking one of the many curves on this long and winding road.
“My mom was convinced you needed me in that bedroom with you,” he said as if only now remembering the theatrics I’d used last night.
It had worked like a charm, and that was all that mattered. Not to mention, I was now a player in Beau’s game that I completely crushed. “I win.”
Beau swung around in the seat, rocking the car in all his abruptness to face me. “Stop claimin’ victory when it’s not honestly earned. Manipulatin’ and lyin’ to my mom about a made-up fear of spiders doesn’t count as a win. It’s not a win. I only gave in because she was goin’ to sleep in there with you if I didn’t. What happened to takin’ this slow? Buildin’ into things? Not pushin’ so hard?” Beau asked. Again, I felt his glare on me. I didn’t look.
“Regardless of your perspective, it’s still a win per the rules of the game as I understand them. That’s a five-time streak by now, right?” This time I did take a gander to see if steam came out of his ears when he hit boiling point.
Beau scoffed. “You don’t have five wins. You have no wins by my records. By your shady set of rules, you might have two.” He settled properly in place.
“Not true. I have three wins,” I fired off, protective of the few things I’d been allowed to get right. Beau stared at me silently causing me to look closer between the road and that handsome face that held hints of anticipation and…ambush? No. I’m ashamed to say it took a minute.
Dammit, I fell for the bait. “Omigod, I was rounding up to five, not being literal.”
“See? You don’t play by the rules. You lie. I win.”
Oh, I marked his smugness in my head. When the time came, he was absolutely being repaid.
“Take your next right, about a mile ahead.”
He’d better be glad that I’d had such a nice day that I let it go. We had first tackled the attorney, then took a scenic tour of downtown Mobile. Dallas was landlocked from every which way. I liked the way the city of Mobile sprawled close to the Mobile River’s edge. We walked around a park, took in the sunshine, and enjoyed the fresh air. No jackets needed, which was maybe the best part of the day.