Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
I needed a reason to be weak, and that was it.
That she was leaving anyway.
She’d been here for a month already, and although she had a three-month tenancy, I knew her book was going well. She’d said as much at some point last night and I knew she was going home when she was done, so I wanted to make the most of the time left here.
I would probably never see her again after that.
And that was likely for the best.
I could go back to my quiet, simple life where my grandmother made the odd comment about marriage and great-grandchildren, and Ellie could live her happy life in London and find the person who would give her everything she wanted out of it.
I wasn’t sure I was able to be him.
The problem was that there was a part of me that might just want to be.
• • •
Winston sat on the top step, right in front of the door, and stared at me.
I stared right back.
“Merow.” It was high-pitched and pained, so I walked up the steps to him and scratched his head. He closed his eyes, leaning into my hand, a weird noise that mildly resembled a purr vibrated out of him.
This cat made the strangest noises, truly.
The door swung open, and Ellie stopped with a start. “What is this? Are you having secret meetings without me?”
I peered up at her, still loving on Winston. “No. I was coming over here and he shouted at me, so I was obligated to pay him attention.”
“That’s not how it works. You have to argue with him for at least five minutes before you give in or he’s going to get spoilt.”
“Yes, this is what’s going to spoil him.” I stood up, fighting back a smile. “I see your brother is still here.”
“Ugh,” she groaned.
Winston stretched and walked inside, rubbing himself against Ellie’s legs as he did, and she frowned after him for a second before turning back to me.
“Give me two minutes to put some shoes on,” she told me, then turned around.
I waited for her to slip her feet into some trainers and grab the keys from the inside of the door, then she stepped outside with a sigh.
“That bad?”
Ellie shrugged. “Not really, it’s just a bit more drama than I have the energy for.” She skipped down the steps ahead of me and put her hands in her dress pockets.
There was only one appropriate thing to say to her here.
“I like your dress.”
She grinned. “Thanks. It has pockets.” She stuck her hands out and swayed, showing me them.
Shit. That was a mistake.
She was frigging adorable.
“I know. That’s why I commented.” I laughed and fell into step beside her, walking to the lake.
“You did that just so I could show them off? What a gentleman.” She nudged me, still grinning, and dipped her chin. “Every dress should have pockets.”
“What for?”
“Snacks and weapons of mass destruction, obviously. What else would a woman put in her pockets?”
“An excellent point.” I’d give her that one.
Honestly, that was something we could all aspire to keep in our pockets.
Man or woman.
“So what happened this morning?”
“Ugh.” Her smile dropped, and I hated that I’d brought it back up. “It’s really not that bad, it’s just drama.”
“Here.” I pulled her through an archway covered in ivy and a climbing rose to a part of the lake that most people missed. It had its own small dock that was my favourite spot to fish from, and I’d chosen this spot for my mum’s memorial bench.
“Oh, this is pretty,” Ellie said, sweeping her skirt under her legs as she sat on the bench. “Um, Kev woke up and chose regret this morning.”
“Probably the automatic choice given how drunk he was last night,” I replied, sitting next to her.
“Well, yes. The other part was that he’d texted Aaron before I confiscated his phone, and I knew that because Aaron called me first thing this morning and asked what the hell he was talking about. He screenshotted and texted me while on the phone so I could see the long, rambling, very misspelt apology my brother had sent from the pub’s toilet.”
I grimaced. “It’s never a good idea to drink and text.”
“I agree there.”
“Kev came down when we were on the phone, was mad I was talking to Aaron, then they argued. Aaron told him to shut up and call him when he was ready to act like an adult and not like a child.”
Ouch.
“He has a point,” I said gently.
“Oh, he does. That’s why Kev chose drama. I told him just that.” Ellie shrugged. “He’s thirty-two, not eighteen. I told him that running away was a bad decision when if he’d just spoken to Aaron yesterday morning, it all would have been sorted.”
I leant back and stretched my legs out in front of me. “Does he even want to get married?”