Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“We can start including you both in everything?” Cat asked, her voice lifting with hope. “No more Beth days and Gideon days?”
“I can’t guarantee there won’t be hiccups, but I think we could try.”
“He seemed genuinely concerned today.”
“He was, uhm, he was really great. Concerned. Caring. “
“See? I told you he was a great guy.”
“Do you ever tell him that I’m a great gal?” Beth couldn’t help asking, and Cat laughed at the ridiculous question.
“Of course I do. All the time. But you two were each determined to believe that the other was the devil. I never could understand why.”
“We had a rough start,” Beth said, remembering the things she’d overheard him say about her at their friends’ engagement party. And the things she’d said to him in return.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re finally figuring it out.” Cat was silent for a second before continuing. “Adam Reece has been asking for your number. I told him I’d have to ask you if it was okay first.”
“Oh.” She strained to recall the man’s face. After the hectic day she’d had, she hadn’t given him a second thought.
“Can I?”
He’d been nice and charming, she remembered, exactly her type. She heard a clatter in the kitchen, followed by a few muttered swear words and she smiled fondly as she pictured Gideon losing his patience and probably messing up her ruthlessly organized kitchen. And she wondered, for a dangerous moment, if perhaps her “type” wasn’t changing.
No, she couldn’t think like that. While it appeared that she and Gideon could spend short bursts of time together without the world imploding, they weren’t good for each other. Great sex and some laughs did not a long-term relationship make.
“Yes. Please. Give him my number. He seems lovely.”
“I’ve already checked, Zane says he’s a stand-up guy.”
Beth smiled. She appreciated what an outstanding wingwoman Cat always was.
“Thanks, Cat.”
“Anytime. Now you get some rest. You’re coming to lunch tomorrow at ours.”
“But—”
“No arguments, Beth. You can’t cook…come to that, what are you having for dinner tonight?”
“Well,” she hesitated for a moment, before deciding to be honest. “Gideon is making an omelet. Or a grilled cheese sandwich. I’m not sure what he settled on.”
The silence that followed was so absolute and went on for so long, that Beth moved the phone from her ear to check if she’d lost the connection. Nope, the call was still active. She lifted it back to her ear.
“I said—”
“I heard you,” Cat interrupted. “I’m just…absorbing the shock.”
“Come on, it’s not that shocking.”
“He didn’t just dump you at home and rush back to his place?”
“Not two minutes ago you were talking about what a great guy he is.”
“Yes, but this is more than him being a great guy. You could have ordered a pizza just fine with one hand. Making sure you’re home safe is a lot different than cooking for you.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Ssh, let me think.”
Oh no, that was the last thing Beth wanted Cat to do.
“Look, it’s not a big deal. I’m exhausted, he could see that. He offered to whip up something while I got freshened up.”
More silence. Shit. This was not good.
“And you were okay with that?” The question came after another eons-long pause.
“With what?”
“Him, cooking for you. In your kitchen. While you freshened up? Naked? In the shower?”
“Not sure what you’re getting at.” Beth’s tone of voice was rigid. Cautious.
“I appreciate you guys going the extra mile to get along, Beth. But this seems way beyond the baby steps I was expecting.”
“Does it?” Beth asked faintly. “In for a penny, in for a pound, and all that.”
“It looked like Gideon was ready to punch Kyle earlier for taking that cheap shot.” Now it sounded like Cat was talking to herself, working something out verbally, as she often did with a puzzle she was trying to solve. “And then he…Oh my God, I didn’t think of it before—we were all so focused on you—but he dove in front of the second shot, didn’t he?”
“Did he?’
“He did. He totally did.”
“He probably didn’t want me to get even more hurt than I already was. Great guy and all that.”
Cat’s voice sharpened, as lethal as a ten-inch honed steel blade. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Gideon…something’s going on.”
“No.” It was all Beth could think of to say and she winced at the inadequate response.
“I can’t quite figure it out. Yet. But I’ll get to it.”
“Come on, Cat, what do you think is happening here?” Beth said with a dismissive laugh, not liking the high note of panic she could hear flitting along the edges of her voice. “He’s being nice. And I appreciate it. I’ll try to be nice right back. We’re making an effort. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
A long silence followed, and then, “…okay.”
Yeah, Cat didn’t sound at all convinced.