Total pages in book: 296
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
“You know your aide could’ve stayed with the patient’s mom so you could leave for twenty minutes,” she reminds me. Natalie works in radiology and is constantly telling me to take care of myself, or I’ll burn out, but I can’t help it. I love my job and my patients.
“I’m fine, Mom,” I tease.
“You need a vacation,” she says matter-of-factly. “Get some sun on your pasty ass.”
I snort. “Sure. Vacation for one!” I roll my eyes. “And your ass is probably as pasty as mine.”
“I sunbathed nude on the rooftop all summer, so joke’s on you.” She smirks.
“Thanks for that.” I wrinkle my nose. “Didn’t need that visual.”
She rolls her eyes, and I laugh.
“But seriously. You could use a vacation. Or a distraction. Find a hot guy and bang his brains out.” She waggles her brows with a sultry smirk.
Still chewing my food, I burst out laughing and shake my head at her. “Banging random men isn’t going to change the fact I gave the last six months of my life to a man who ‘forgot’ to tell me he was married.” I suck in a deep breath and exhale the anger that’s been weighing on my chest for the past three weeks since finding his wedding ring hiding deep in his dress pants pocket.
“Oh, screw—what’s his face anyway…” She scrunches up her face in disgust. She never liked him much anyway based on the few times they met. “Asshole.”
“Andrew,” I fill in for her, feeling bile rise in my throat at saying his name aloud.
“Andrew. Asshole. Same thing, really.” She curls the corner of her lip. “Screw him. Go on a single’s cruise and find yourself some hot man meat!” The tone of her voice is serious, which terrifies me.
“Hot man meat?” I arch a brow. “We graduated from middle school over a decade ago,” I inform her with a teasing grin. “The only hot meat I want near me is a big fat turkey.” I smile, getting excited about spending Thanksgiving with my family next month up in Eagle River where I’m originally from. I moved down here for college, and once I got hired at the hospital, I made it my permanent residence.
“Okay, so no singles cruise.” She frowns.
I give her an eye roll, then reach for my purse. I dig around inside until I find my prescription bottle. Once I open it and grab a pill, I toss it down my throat and swallow it with a big gulp of water.
“What’s that?” she asks, tilting her head to read the bottle as she takes another bite of her carrot stick.
“It’s my STD medication. A parting gift from Andrew,” I deadpan. She starts choking on her carrot, and I nearly die of laughter.
“River! That isn’t funny.” She smacks her chest as tears form in the corner of my eyes.
“Oh my God. The look on your face was priceless,” I say, wiping tears from my cheeks.
“You’re seriously a bitch. You deserve an STD after that.” She scowls.
Once I’ve controlled my laughter, I shove the bottle back in my purse. “Don’t be so dramatic. My doctor prescribed it for my sinus infection; thankfully, it’s almost gone now.”
“Oh my God!” She slams her palm down on the table, the loud bang echoing through space. I jump at her unnecessary spasm.
“Jesus, Natalie,” I scold. “Nearly made me pee myself.”
She points a finger in my face. “You deserved it.” She smirks. “Anyway. I just got the best idea. Adam and I are going to Key West soon for two weeks. You should totally come!”
I furrow my brows at her like she’s crazy. “I’m not going on a couples’ vacation with you and your boyfriend, Nat. That’d be weird.”
“No way. We’d have a blast,” she insists.
“I’d be the third wheel,” I correct.
“Hardly. Adam plans to go fishing like every morning. You can keep me company on the beach drinking margaritas and checking out the local eye candy. Then when he’s back, the three of us can find fun stuff to do like snorkeling or sailing.”
“That sounds fun, it really does, but I can’t just tag along on your couples’ trip. I’d feel like such a burden.”
“Girl, stop it. Adam and I are basically an old married couple. Truth be told, I’d have more fun with you hanging around anyway. Once Adam starts talking about fish and worms, and God knows what else, I start to fall asleep.”
“Oh, so now you want me to be your buffer. This is sounding better and better,” I muse.
“What’s it matter?” She grins. “Just come and enjoy the sun and the beach and the water and forget about the STD married asshole man.”
“For the record, I don’t have an STD, Natalie!” I whisper-shout.
She waves me off as if it’s irrelevant.
“Just think about it, okay? You can book a separate room at the same resort. We can head down to the pool and have breakfast together and read books by the beach, and then when you get yourself drunk enough and find a hot, single man, you’ll have a room all to yourself for slutty banging time.”