Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77611 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77611 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
I love that adorkable man. I can’t stop laughing. And then I see something really interesting.
Connor: The sweet doll who works at the front desk said you mentioned me before you left, so I forgive you for putting yourself in danger by being an idiot.
Connor: She likes Jason Statham movies and steak, her name is Veronica and I’m buying her a drink as we speak. She’s stuck at the lodge, so I’m thinking of offering her your room in the suite. If you were here, I could get your advice on this so I don’t come off as a creeper, but I have a feeling you’d approve. I really like her.
“Yes!” I pump my fist in the air and the M&Ms bark excitedly.
I am fully aware that it’s weird to be this excited every time Connor has the possibility of finding a good woman. But after his childhood, which in some ways was more of a mindfuck than mine, he deserves to be a worthy someone’s husband.
The problem is, he’s always in locker rooms or at sporting events and doesn’t believe in online dating or my type of hooking up. Connor is old fashioned, but in a “Future World’s Greatest Dad” kind of way.
At first, I thought he’d find someone at work, but the women filling the bleachers during middle school sporting events are mostly harried moms, doting grandmothers, and sisters of team members that are too experienced with Instagram makeup tutorials for me to determine whether or not they’re age appropriate to fix up with my roomie.
Finding him a girlfriend is a difficult and often thankless job, which might explain why I’m really rooting for Front Desk Veronica.
Me: I’m alive and well, just a twisted ankle to show for my adventures. I hope you let her sleep in my room. Or your room, in case you remembered that you’re over thirty and that was an option. I’ll talk to you later. You should see if she wants to have breakfast with you. I bet she’d say yes.
With that out of the way, I get to my feet, walk to the window and stare out at the swirling snow I’m still oddly unbothered by while I call Bex.
“You better have a good reason for not calling me last night.”
“Happy Saturday to you too, and I was mostly unconscious.” I’m not above reminding her I was injured to soften her ire. “Because of the whole lost and frozen in the woods for hours situation.”
“They said you were okay. Were they lying?”
“I’m fine, I swear. Some scrapes and a lecture from Connor in my future about the right footwear, but otherwise, I’m surprisingly good.”
“He told me you lucked your way to some guy’s cabin. And when Seamus Finn described him for me, I thought he might be the one at the bar that night. The guy you disappeared with after your song.”
“Rebecca Asher Gordon. You called him in the middle of his parents’ anniversary weekend to get intel? During a blizzard?” I lean my forehead against the cold window. “You could have waited for me to tell you.”
“You can be protective but I can’t return the favor? I needed to know you weren’t in danger. We’re halfway there, by the way. It was slow going last night, but Val’s truck is built for this kind of thing. We’re currently at a bed and breakfast one town over with the band you were supposed to play with. They’ve been very entertaining.”
She left Val’s house? Except for doctor appointments, she hasn’t done that in months. “I didn’t mean to worry you that badly.”
“Yeah, well, you did. I shouldn’t have pushed you to go there in the first place. And the whole time you were gone, I went stir crazy, wondering what you and Connor were doing. Val actually suggested coming before we heard about the snowstorm, which means I’ve been driving him crazy too.”
Once again, the V man has the perfect opportunity to spend time with her alone and wastes it. Heavy sigh. What am I going to do with that knucklehead? “And here I thought you’d be happy to have a little space after months of slumber-partying.”
“There are only so many books I can read and so much hovering I can stand. I need to get back to my life again. I thought we’d come to check on you and support your fifteen minutes of singing fame.”
“Hah.”
“And while we’re there, I can tell Kate to back off and have a talk with Tanaka about temporarily returning to my old job. The one that doesn’t require trying to be something I’m not, or having knives aimed in my general direction.”
I close my eyes and thank whoever is listening. “I love that idea, Bex.”
“I just have to convince my uncle he needs to hire someone else before I leave to try something new.”