Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“All in all, things could be worse.” I wink at him and turn to make his coffee.
I love it when my shop is bustling like it is right now. Not just because it means that I’ll have a profitable day, but because I enjoy seeing the people from my town that I love so much. I know that Bitterroot Valley is growing, but the connections from my childhood are still here, too.
Just after I pass Beckett his cup, I turn and find Holden Lexington standing on the other side of the counter, and my heart jumps into my freaking throat.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Warn a girl, will you?
It’s been eight years, and still, every time I lay my eyes on this man, my entire being longs for him. And after the shit he’s put me through, that just pisses me right off.
“Hey.” Good, Millie. Keep your voice neutral. You’ve got this. “What would you like today?”
“My usual.”
“And that is?” I know exactly what it is. Medium roast, black, one sugar. But I’ll never let him know that I remember his drink. He doesn’t get even that much from me.
He narrows those blue eyes, and my stomach flutters.
Stop it.
“Coffee. Black. One sugar.” I hate it when he watches me with those eyes that see too fucking much. Eyes that used to look at me as if he loved me. As if he couldn’t get enough of me. As if I hung the goddamn moon.
Of course, that’s ancient history.
“Ah, yes, that’s right.” I tap his order onto the screen of the computer. I always feel so awkward with him. So, I try to fill the silence with small talk. “What are you up to today?”
“Headed to the lawyer’s office.” He taps his card on the screen, paying for his coffee, and I can’t help but watch his hands as he pushes the card back into his wallet. I know from experience that Holden has really good hands, and he knows what to do with them. “Will reading.”
That brings my gaze back up to his, and I can’t help but soften toward him just a bit. I can’t imagine losing my own dad. I know that Holden was not as close to his father, but still, I’m not a complete ice witch. “I’m sorry, Holden.”
“Yeah, well. Have to get it over with.” He shrugs as if it’s nothing, but I know it’s not nothing by the way his whole body just tensed up.
I might despise this man, and the wounds still ache, even though it’s been so many years since he broke my heart—or, you know, tore it out of my chest and set it on fire—but I still know him.
And that’s its own special, horrible hurt.
“I was sorry to hear about your dad.” My voice is softer, and I can tell by the way Holden’s muscles relax a bit that he believes me. He simply nods again, and I take that as my cue to turn and get his coffee ready.
I know exactly how he likes it. He doesn’t just want one sugar. It’s more like one and a half. After stirring it, I snap on the lid and turn to give it to him.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck.”
He turns away and walks out, and I have to take a long, deep breath to get my body to calm the fuck down.
He doesn’t want you, you idiot. He made that crystal clear. You have got to let this go.
Thankfully, we’re busy the entire day, which makes the hours pass quickly. Before I know it, Candy has locked the door and we’re cleaning up the espresso machine and mopping the floor, and I’ve counted the till and stowed the cash away in the safe.
“Well, boss, have a good day off tomorrow,” Candy says, after looping her purse across her body. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Have fun,” I reply with a grin and walk the short two blocks home to my apartment.
I like my place, and it totally suited my needs in the past, but lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve outgrown it, so I’ve decided to move. I’ll be renting Polly’s house just a few blocks over. I need tomorrow to get most of my stuff moved and settled in so I can clean the apartment for the next tenant.
I grew up on a ranch twenty minutes outside of town, and once I was old enough to make those kinds of decisions, I knew that I didn’t want to stay that far away from civilization.
I’m a town girl. Not a ranch girl.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love our family ranch. The mountains are spectacular, and I like helping with branding and vaccinations on the calves in the spring.
But I do not want to live out there.
“Hi, Hazel.” I offer my elderly neighbor, Hazel Henderson, a wave as I unlock my door. That woman is nosy as hell and always pokes her head out the door to see who’s out here whenever I come home, and I’m going to miss her after I move.