Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Fuck dinner. I’d much rather have Weland.
I almost choke out you, but I pick up my own menu and give it a quick scan. “We could ask.”
“Right, sorry. You’ve never even been here. How would you know what’s good?”
I know what’s good. The best thing is sitting right in front of me. “Fish, maybe? Tuna steaks?”
“Oh. I’ve never had a tuna steak.”
“Really? They’re usually pretty good. They’re known as the chicken of the sea, you know.”
She hides her laugh behind her hand. I love that her fingers have callouses built up from playing the guitar. It gives them character and life. It’s just another thing that makes Weland entirely unique. Not that other people don’t play the guitar. It’s just that when she does it…
“Or steak. Can’t go wrong with steak,” I add.
“I don’t know how I like it cooked. I’m not really a steak eater. It’s never been in the budget.”
I gape at her. “But I…”
“Almost all of it went to Bryan’s surgeries and his physio after.”
I’m an idiot. That’s the real reason she’s renting a dumpy condo that doesn’t have proper locks or security. It’s not just that she’s flying under the radar or that it’s a good cover. It’s that I haven’t given one thought to the fact that she would have used all the money for her brother, and there isn’t any more until the end of our agreement.
That’s another thing I’m fixing right now. “I’ll make sure you have a buffer. I’m sorry I didn’t think about it before.”
She looks horrified. “No!” Her eyes well up and I know I’ve said something wrong by trying to be nice. “No, please. Don’t do that. I’m fine. I make enough money to live by giving guitar lessons. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal. Your comfort and your safety is a big deal to me.”
She doesn’t throw back at me that I didn’t care enough before. She just bites her bottom lip. “I’m happy where I am, and the area is fine. The condo might be old, but I’m comfortable, and it’s home enough for me. I’m not that far from my parents either, so that’s nice, and I’m in a central location for the lessons I give. If I moved, my students would have to travel further, and I can’t ask them to do that. I’ll get new students of course, but it’s not fair to the existing ones I have who have been with me, some of them for years.”
She’d think of others first. Yes, of course she would because that’s Weland. Beautiful in all ways. I was captivated by her song at first, but now I’m captivated by her.
“You’re looking at me funny,” she states after a moment.
I quickly shift my eyes back down to the menu, but I can’t help but ask, “How so?”
“I don’t know. You have that look like you’re gazing at the stars. I’m no star, Sterling. I’m just me. Flawed and imperfect like everyone else. I hope you know that. When people first get together, it can be…it can be hard to see those flaws, and then the disappointment comes later. I want you to see me as I am, with all my flaws and imperfections included. That way, I feel like you would never be disappointed.”
“Disappointed?” I leap up from my chair and shove it back. It only takes a second for me to get to Weland. I take her hands and pull her up. Then, I hug her close. “I could never be disappointed.” She smells like the restaurant, like cheese bread and garlic, and her own sweet floral scent. I’m enchanted. “Some things might wear off with time, that’s true, but I’ll never be disappointed.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I don’t like when people do that. I try to never do that myself.”
I kiss her forehead. I want more, but we’re still in a public place, even in this private room. “I mean it.” I’d like to do something cheesy, like dance her over to the fire and sway without music. I’d like to wrap her in my arms and hold her for the rest of the night. For the rest of my life.
For the rest of my life.
What the heck is going on? She’s right. We basically just met. The sensations rushing through us are hormonal, physical, and new. They’ll wear off or wear down. One day, they won’t shine as bright. She’s worried I’m not thinking clearly. I know my brain isn’t muddled, but she’s right. Slow is the best way to go. Slow and seeing clearly, thinking clearly, making clear decisions, and being real.
I kiss her on the forehead one more time. “Not going to happen.” That’s a promise I can keep. She could never, ever be a disappointment.
When she’s seated again, blushing so prettily and slightly unsettled, it really makes me want to take her up in my arms and do everything I was thinking about. Dancing. Kissing. Hugging. Holding. Leaving right now and taking her back to her place.