Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“What time is it?”
“Almost six.” He takes a seat on the couch next to me.
“Seriously?” I search for the clock in the kitchen, sure he’s lying. I’ve never been the kind of person to nap in the middle of the day, regardless of how tired I am, and I sure as heck have never slept for five hours after sleeping the night before.
“Seriously.” His lips twitch, and then he pulls his eyes from mine and looks around. “I see your stuff got here today.”
“Really, how did you know?” I grab my soda off the ground, listening to him laugh as I stand. “Now I just need to unpack everything,” I tell him as I take the can to the sink and dump what’s left down the drain before tossing it into the recycle bin. When I turn around, I find him studying me but ignore his stare and continue talking. “If you’re okay, I’m going to start unpacking my bedroom and bathroom, since I can’t really get the kitchen unpacked with all the furniture in here.”
“Do you want help?”
“Help?” I feel my brows drag together.
“Help unpacking shit.” He pushes off the couch and steps toward me. “I should be done painting and with the carpet by Friday. I could help you this weekend.”
“Umm….”
“You can pay me with dinner.”
“Dinner?”
His lips tip up ever so slightly. “Dinner. You know, that meal you eat after lunch.”
“I know what dinner is, but are you sure you want to help me?”
“My daughter is with her mom this weekend, so either I’ll be here helping you, or spending time with my buddy Colton and his wife. And they make me want to puke with how cute they are together.”
“Colton married Lisa?” I ask, remembering Colton, his best friend from high school, and his longtime girlfriend Lisa, who was not very nice at all but still managed to be one of the more popular girls in school.
“How do you know Colton?” He frowns, his gaze searching mine.
“I….” Oh God, I don’t want to tell him who I am but know I can’t lie either. “We went to school together.
His eyes narrow and the lines between his brows grow deeper. “Colton and I were tight through high school, and I don’t remember you.”
Probably because I was about thirty pounds lighter from starving myself, I think, but don’t say. Instead, I mumble, “Yeah, we didn’t exactly hang out with the same crowd.”
“Holy fuck.” His eyes widen as he takes a step away from me like I might somehow contaminate him. “Aria Spencer, I thought you looked familiar, but—” His gaze roams over me from my hair to my toes, making me feel uncomfortable. “—I didn’t put two and two together.”
“Yep, that’s me.” I flap my arms out by my sides, wishing I could somehow vaporize and disappear into thin air. “So Colton and Lisa got married after all, huh?” I attempt to change the subject.
“Fuck no, Lisa is a bitch. His wife’s name is Gia. She just moved to town not long ago.”
“Oh… well…” I lick my lips. “Good for him.”
“Yeah,” he mutters, looking like he’s trying not to laugh. I shift on my feet, not sure what to do, then he grins, making me brace. “So off-limits Aria Spencer is back in town.”
“Off-limits?”
“Babe, all through high school, every guy new you were off-limits.”
“I don’t even know what that means.” My nose scrunches.
“It means we all knew you were too good for any of us, so we kept our distance.”
Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but it’s still true.” He shakes his head. “Shit, I should have realized it was you when I saw your eyes.”
“My eyes?”
“Your big, blue doe eyes are hard to forget.”
“Oh,” I mutter, not sure that’s exactly a compliment.
“So, about this weekend…?” he prompts, making the butterflies in my stomach come to life.
“This weekend?”
“Unpacking.” His lips tip up.
“Right.” I glance around at the boxes and furniture surrounding us. I don’t even want to unpack, so I have a hard time believing he wants to do it when he doesn’t have to. “Are you sure you want to help me?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
“Well.” I lick my lips. “Okay, I would appreciate your help.”
“That’s good, since I was gonna show up here even if you said no.” He chuckles, and I start to laugh, then cover my stomach when it growls so loud I’m surprised the walls don’t shake. “Have you eaten today?”
“Umm…” I try to remember. “I don’t know. It was a crazy day.”
“That probably means no.” He pulls his cell out of his pocket, dropping his eyes to it as he turns on the screen. “I haven’t eaten dinner. How about I order us Chinese?”
“Oh.” I lick my lips again. “Sure.” I shrug, and he smiles, putting his phone to his ear.