Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
He laughed and said he would. With the last dish settled in his truck, he shut the door and looked at me.
This was the first time I’d seen him since we’d gone out to dinner, in what I was calling a nondate, despite what the ladies had told me.
Weston was handsome; there was no denying that. He also had me by twelve years, which I’d only figured out when I was on the phone with my dad. I used this moment, away from the melee in the house and the prying eyes, to see if the women were right—was he flirting with me?
I stood there with my arms crossed, acting as if I was disinterested so he wouldn’t catch me staring as I took him in. It hit me right there and then. He didn’t even need to try and be sexy. He just was. He exuded charm. It was like he had it in spades. Tall, rugged, strong, and so masculine without being macho. The other night, he’d shown me he could be playful, patient, intense. This was a man who accepted a challenge and didn’t back down from hard work. Weston wasn’t the type to ditch out for a tee time in Miami. He was someone who gave up his weekends to help someone in need. My throat tightened as visions of his arms flexing against his tight T-shirt when he’d rebuilt the porch flashed in my mind.
He adjusted his ball cap, showing off the graying at his temples, which, if forced to admit, I found sexy.
The man in front of me exuded kindness and empathy, which showed in his warm brown eyes.
Weston winked, and I blushed, which didn’t escape his notice. The smirk, slow and teasing . . . it could melt my resolve if I let it. He tilted his head in question.
I was in trouble if I didn’t put my walls up.
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “Lost in thought.”
“What about?”
If I wasn’t mistaken, he stepped a smidge closer to me.
“The other night, when we went to dinner, was that a date?”
Weston’s lips lifted into a smile as he tilted his head. “I’d like to consider it one.”
I opened my mouth to list the reasons why it wasn’t, but he held his hand up.
“I know you just came out of a long-term relationship and you’re going through some very heavy stuff right now, but I can’t help how I feel. Ever since you walked into the gym—what was it, almost a month ago?—I have done nothing but think about you. You’re the first woman since my divorce who has sparked something within me, and that was before I even knew your name.”
I didn’t know what to say, except, “How’d you know I was single?”
Weston’s lips went into a thin line, and then he laughed. “I believe the chain went from Miriam, to Samira, to Jerome, to me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He smiled and touched my hip lightly, and I found myself stepping a bit closer.
“It seems I’ve waited for you for this long; I can wait a little longer if you’re interested. I don’t even need to know if you are, but I intend to come around until you tell me to take a hike.”
“I won’t do that,” I whispered, still unsure of where my head and heart were at.
“That’s good.” Weston gripped my upper arm, leaned forward, and kissed my forehead while trailing his hand down my arm until his fingers laced with mine. He squeezed my hand before letting go. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Weston hopped into his truck, started it, and backed out of the driveway, but not before giving me a little wave. As soon as he was gone, I turned toward the house and caught Miri in the window. She smiled before turning away.
Before I went in, I turned and looked down the driveway and replayed his words in my mind. Dinner had been a date, and a nice one, and the kiss, while not on my lips and unexpected, left me tingling with anticipation; even though I knew I’d see him tomorrow, my heart was ready for him to come back. Maybe I could call him with a ruse that we had more food to give him. Not that I’d need one to get him to come over.
Later, after everyone had left and the kids had gone to bed and I had Miri settled, we lay on our sides, facing each other.
“Do you want me to call your parents?”
“No, they didn’t want me when I needed them, and I don’t need them now. Let them read about my death in the paper.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
“Okay,” she said as she closed her eyes.
Chapter 26
Cutter
Nothing can prepare you to watch your only parent die. There wasn’t a class to take, but according to my guidance counselor, I could read a book. Who in the hell had time to read a book that wasn’t assigned as homework? Certainly not me. Not with everything going on in my life. Between school, basketball, and watching my mother disappear from my life, reading was the last thing on my mind.