Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 178688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 893(@200wpm)___ 715(@250wpm)___ 596(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 178688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 893(@200wpm)___ 715(@250wpm)___ 596(@300wpm)
“Oh, darling, you can’t go wrong with any of them. Trust me,” Marjorie gloats.
I snort at Tyler’s wide-eyed expression. “Can I just get a regular coffee with cream?”
“What flavor?” she asks, typing on her cashier’s screen.
“Just black.”
“There are different types,” I explain, then point at the options.
“Uhh…a dark roast?”
“I have Southern blaze and sunshine rain.”
Tyler looks at me, and I hold back a laugh. Marjorie roasts her own beans and makes her own unique blends.
“Surprise me,” Tyler finally says.
“I’ll take a pumpkin cream with almond milk,” I confirm.
“Comin’ right up.” Marjorie tells us the total. Tyler lets go of my hand and grabs his wallet, and I immediately miss his touch.
After he’s paid, she pours a plain coffee and directs Tyler to the cream and sugar on the other side.
“That’s Tyler Blackwood, right?” she asks when he’s out of earshot.
“Yep,” I respond, waiting for her inevitable question of whether we’re dating.
“Wow.” She smirks. “Talk about a glow-up, amiright?” Marjorie waggles her brows, and it causes me to snort.
“Definitely.” I nod. Though Tyler was always handsome, he’s definitely bulked up and matured over the years.
“One pumpkin cream latte with almond milk,” she calls and hands it over.
Tyler and I thank her, then head to the car.
“Well, that was interesting.” He reaches my door and opens it for me.
“Thank you.” After I take my seat, he closes it, then jogs to his side and slides in. “You’ll get used to it. I’m guessing they didn’t have premium lattes in prison?” I tease.
“If you consider stale coffee premium, then yes. Otherwise, hell no.” Tyler winks. “How’s your Halloween in a cup?”
I take another sip and hum. “Delicious. Wanna try?”
“Sure, but if it makes me gag, I’m blaming you.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic like Everleigh.”
He glances at me before trying it, almost as if he’s questioning his decision. “That’s pure sugar. Damn.” He makes a face, then hands it back.
“That’s the point. Sugar rush and caffeine. It’ll wake my ass right up.”
Tyler’s eyebrow lifts. “If you say so.”
We chat the entire time, both of us cracking jokes and talking about random topics. He mentions I should try another Jack Nicholson movie, and I agree but only if he watches a romantic comedy with me. After we shook on it, he captured my hand and placed it on his lap.
By the time we arrive at the prison, giddy butterflies swarm my stomach. I can’t wait to see Noah again and am grateful I can spend time with Tyler too.
“You ready?” I ask. “We’ll sign in, they’ll do a quick body search, then we’ll wait for them to release him.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He shrugs and gives me a wink. I imagine this is hard, and I appreciate him being here with me.
Thirty minutes later, we’re finally in the visitation room, and I notice Tyler’s leg shaking.
“You okay?” I whisper, reaching for his hand, and he takes it.
“Just some overwhelming flashbacks, but I’m alright.”
Moments later, a guard ushers Noah forward, and I light up with excitement. I wish I could wrap my arms around him, but there’s a no touching policy.
“Hey!”
“Hi, sis. You look good.”
“Thank you. Remember Tyler Blackwood?” I nod toward him.
“Of course. How’s it goin’, man?”
“Can’t complain. Hope you don’t mind me being here.”
“It’s fine. As long as you go back and tell everyone in town I’m ripped as fuck now.” Noah chuckles.
I shake my head, grinning. “And still cocky as ever,” I add.
“Yeah, well, that’ll probably never change.” Noah shrugs. “So fill me in on what’s happening. Anything new with Robert?”
We spoke the day after Robert’s and my huge blowout, and I told him I’d ended it.
“He hasn’t reached out to me since the dinner last Friday, and I’m hoping it stays that way.”
“You know I love you, Gem, but I’m happy you called it off.”
“Have you met him?” Tyler speaks up.
“Once, and that was enough to confirm I didn’t like him, but even so, Gemma was gonna do what she wanted anyway.”
“I asked him to come here with me, but he’d always say he was too busy with work,” I explain. Looking back, Robert always acted too good to be seen visiting a convict in prison. He judged and mocked people who had criminal records, my brother included.
“Fine by me. Less times I had to fake being nice.” Noah flashes a smirk.
“Just wait till you come home. Everyone’s polite to your face but talks shit behind your back,” Tyler warns. “Hope you got some thick skin.”
“Tyler…” I mutter and give him a look. The last thing I want is to scare Noah about going home.
“Gem, it’s fine. You don’t need to sugarcoat anything for me. Without a doubt, it’s gonna be rough, but since Tyler is there, I won’t be so alone.” Noah shrugs, and it breaks my heart that he’ll have to deal with this when he’s out.