Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
My eyes kept going back from the cookie display, to the way that Wednesday headed without me.
I was having a long, stern talk with myself about how much I did not need a cookie. But I couldn’t help it.
They had my favorite. Double Doozies. With the chocolate icing instead of the white.
Oh, my God. They were so good.
And normally I could walk right past this display and not have a problem. Today, however, I was on my period. Today, I was feeling sorry for myself.
Today marked two entire days since I’d had one hell of a conversation with the hottest man alive.
I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Every time I turned around, my thoughts would stray to him. What was he doing? Where was he at? Would I ever see him again?
Annoyed with myself, I tried to take a step away but was held up by a male body sidling up beside me.
Which was the excuse I needed to stay.
Maybe just one tiny cookie. They made the ones they called the ‘Mini Doozies.’ Maybe just one…
“What are you getting?”
“I think one of the Doozies,” I murmured, then stopped and turned when I realized that it wasn’t the man behind the counter that had asked me that question, but the one standing beside me.
The moment that I saw his face, my breath stalled in my chest.
“I’m going to get a slice of the cake,” he murmured, winking. “Are you getting the big one or the ‘mini’ one?” He paused. “I’ve had both. They don’t taste the same. I think you should get the big one, and maybe just eat a quarter of it if you’re planning on going with the mini.”
I laughed.
“You think that if I have an entire giant-sized Double Doozie that I’ll be able to eat ‘just a quarter?’” I questioned him.
Was he crazy?
He shrugged. “You’re in incredible shape. Figure that you are able to control your appetite.”
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s a big fat no.”
He grunted.
“And it’s even worse when I’m on my period, like today,” I mentioned.
That was when I realized that I just told the man that was sexy as sin that I was on my period…like he would want to know that.
Oh, God.
If the ground could open up and swallow me whole, that’d be great.
“Good to know,” Travis said, not cracking a joke or even a smile. “My sister liked those.”
He pointed at the red velvet brownies, and I scrunched up my nose. “I’m not that fond of them myself.”
In fact, if there was one thing on this entire shelf display that I did not like, it was those.
When I was pregnant with Reggie, those had been the only thing that I could stomach for over a month, and throughout the rest of my pregnancy, I’d eaten them over and over and over again.
If I never saw another one of them again, it’d be too soon.
“Who’s next?”
I gestured for Travis to go—mostly because I wanted to check his ass out without him noticing—and he stepped forward. He said something quietly to the cashier who nodded, reached for two Double Doozies, took two slices of cookie cake, and then rang it all up.
When Travis turned around, my eyes snapped up to his and a guilty look crossed over my face at him catching me checking him out.
He didn’t so much as tease me.
Instead, he handed over the Double Doozies he’d just ordered and walked away without saying a word, leaving me to watch.
“Man’s hot.”
I turned to the chick behind the counter and nodded.
“He is.”
***
Present day
And he still was hot. Even a year later, he was hot as sin.
Sure, he was a little grayer around the temples, but a crazy ex-wife, a kid that hated you, and a newborn, would do that to a man.
Without even asking, he walked up to the cookie counter and ordered some cookies, even going as far as to have the worker make a Double Doozie with chocolate icing because he knew what I liked and they’d run out.
When he handed over my Doozie, as well as Reggie’s, he winked. “Where to now?”
I licked my lips and looked away, my heart starting to ache.
God, I loved this man.
I loved him with my whole heart and soul, but I couldn’t be with him.
It was the worst kind of situation anybody could ever be in.
And I couldn’t even leave at this point because I had a kid with him, and I’d be no better than stupid Allegra if I did that to him.
So I stayed, despite my heart hurting each and every time I saw him.
“Crazy 8, I guess,” I croaked. “If she doesn’t find anything there, we’ll go to Kohl’s.”
And that’s what we did.
To all passersby, we were like one nice, big, happy family.
Only, they’d be wrong.
Chapter 5
I’m confident my last words will be, “Are you fucking kidding me?”