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)
But those two were her sentimental favorites.
Adam looked a little lost, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to say after those revelations, and Beth felt an odd little pang in the depths of her stomach as she thought of Gideon. He would have gotten a massive kick out of that story. He would likely have come up with even more ridiculous titles to extend the series.
“Tell me more about your work,” she prompted gently, and he looked relieved to move back into more familiar territory.
She kept him talking through the rest of their meal—something she was adept at—another one of her tricks. When she didn’t want to speak, she kept everyone else talking. Only she hadn’t had to use it in a very long time.
Neither of them felt inclined to linger over dessert and they left shortly after that.
Once they were back at her house, he walked her to her door and stood staring down at her with his hands shoved into his denim jacket pockets.
“Would you like to do this again sometime?” he asked. The words sounded reluctant, almost forced, and Beth laughed lightly.
“Adam, we shared a fun, unforgettable moment when we first met. And with any other couple it would have been the ultimate meet-cute, but I think that’s all we’ll ever have.”
He laughed too, the short sound a combination of amusement and resignation.
“You’re probably right,” he agreed.
“Thank you for a lovely evening.”
“I enjoyed it.” He was so polite. Then again…so was she.
He waited until she unlocked her door and stepped inside.
“Goodnight, Beth.”
“Goodbye, Adam.” He smiled and nodded, before turning and slowly ambling back down the path toward his car.
She watched, her door opened to just a crack, as he climbed in and drove off.
She was about to close the door when her eyes lifted to the dark porch directly across from her house.
It was dark and quiet over there, but in that moment, Beth was absolutely certain Gideon was sitting over there in the dark.
Watching.
Her lips lifted. She stepped back and closed and locked her front door, then switched on the ceiling lights in both the kitchen and the living room. Flooding the whole space in bright, white light.
Her curtains were still open.
She went to her kitchen and grabbed up a wineglass from one of the open shelves. She pried the cork from a previously opened bottle of red wine which she’d left on the counter next to the fridge. She shoved the cork back into the bottle and picked up her filled glass. Taking a sip as she pulled her phone from her tote.
She found her favorite Friday night easy listening playlist and soon had some jazz smoothly spilling from her expensive Bluetooth speakers. She braced a hand on the kitchen counter and bent her leg backwards the pry off one of her high emerald green pumps. She tossed it across the floor, the gesture uncharacteristic. She always took good care of her things and kept her home neat as a pin. But tonight, she was playing to an audience.
No, she was punishing her audience.
Because really, he shouldn’t be watching. But he was. She knew he was and he’d brought this on himself.
She slowly dragged off the other shoe and it followed her first across the floor.
She sighed and wriggled her toes appreciatively. It felt so damned good to get out of those heels.
She planted both palms on the counter, on either side of the wine glass, and stretched, bending forward, bowing her back and dropping her head down between her arms, while working the kinks out of her vertebrae.
She then straightened, elongating her back and pointing her chin ceilingward as her spine curved backward.
She rolled her head on her shoulders and turned so that she was facing the window. She reached up and cupped the nape of her neck beneath the heavy fall of her hair and massaged the tense knots she found there.
Her other hand found her glass, which she lifted to her lips to take another thirsty sip. She put the glass back on the counter.
And quickly flicked open the top three pearly buttons of the silky chiffon blouse she was wearing. It was a diaphanous sage green blouse with full sleeves and a silky cream camisole beneath it.
The front of the blouse was tucked into a pair of butt-hugging boyfriend jeans with roll ups.
She dragged the blouse out of the waistband of her jeans, then unbuttoned the rest of the pearly buttons. She stopped just one button shy of loosening it completely, and instead moved her hands up to her ears now.
By this time she was slowly swaying to the music, and she unhooked one of the earrings and then the other, dropping them onto her coffee table. She sighed, and ran her hands up through her hair, allowing the tresses to fall over her arms. Arms which she then lifted above her head. Her hands were raised toward the ceiling, index fingers hooked into each other above her head as she continued dancing slowly and sensuously to Nina Simone’s I Put a Spell on You.