Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 97151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
My name is spelled out above the heart and then, Ben’s below.
I turn to Ben, not quite getting it.
He’s grinning at me. “You see,” he says. “Avril loves Ben. It’s written in the city sky. It must be true?”
I turn back to it. “How on earth did you arrange for that to happen?”
“Well, I had to top the movie, right?”
I laugh. “No, you didn’t, but…” I look out at the message written there. “It’s funny. And really cute.”
“It actually turned out better than I expected,” he admits.
“How did you make that happen?”
“You might not know this about me, but I have connections,” he says.
I can’t contain my grin. “I did know that about you.”
He laughs. “Comes in useful sometimes.”
“If I was ever going to fall in love with you, it would be right here, right now.”
He smiles at me, holding my gaze. He’s so freaking handsome, it’s almost obscene. And somehow he seems to have gotten better looking over this week we’ve spent together.
“If I was ever going to fall in love with you, it would be tonight, too.”
“You really like these shoes, huh?” I ask.
He grins. “Maybe not tonight, actually. Maybe it was…” He trails off.
“What?”
He shrugs. “I think you’re funny and kind and hardworking, and I’ve really enjoyed having you as a flatmate.”
An elastic band twangs in my stomach. I’m going to miss him. Which is ridiculous because this was some stupid bet. But it’s true.
“Are you sure you haven’t gotten irritated by my snoring?” I ask him. “Or the way I leave my shoes in the hallway?”
“I haven’t noticed either,” he says. “But if I did, I wouldn’t care.”
More elastic bands twang and my heart inches higher in my chest. He is completely and utterly charming, but it doesn’t feel unctuous anymore. I don’t think Ben would say anything to me that he didn’t mean.
If I weren’t so invested in Boston, who knows what would have happened this week.
Except, if I wasn’t so invested in Boston, I would have never ended up in Ben’s apartment. We probably would never have seen each other again after Aurora and Deacon’s engagement party. Our paths would never have crossed again. There’s a crushing feeling against my breastbone—a real sense of loss, at even the thought of not having gotten to know Ben more.
“Even without the fancy restaurants and you knowing exactly what to say at exactly the right time, you’re still a really good guy, Ben.”
His smile falters slightly, and I reach for his hand. “And if it makes you feel any better…” I nod toward the window, our names still on the most famous building in America for everyone to see. “I was close to falling in love with you.” I take a breath. He might not think I’m being serious, but I absolutely am. “A couple more days and who knows what would have happened.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “Let’s have dinner and you can stop teasing me.”
“Oh, I have no intention of stopping teasing you,” I say.
He holds my gaze for a second, then two, then three. “Good. I wouldn’t want you any way other than how you are.”
I don’t think any man has ever said anything more romantic to me.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Ben
When I wake up on Sunday morning, relief courses through my body when I realize that Avril’s still in the bed with me. After coming back from the Sleepless in Seattle restaurant last night, Avril insisted she needed one of the cookies I’d baked to help her fall asleep. We didn’t even discuss whether I was going to join her in bed as we watched more Bravo reality shows, I just climbed in next to her and we must have fallen asleep here.
She shifts next to me and then she straightens her arms over her head and groans as she stretches, and my dick hardens. Jesus, maybe I should have slept in my own bed last night. I just want to pull her toward me and wrap my arms around her.
“I feel more tired now than when I went to bed,” she announces.
“Those facts combined with the snoring indicates sleep apnea,” I say. “You should see a doctor.”
She thwacks me on the chest, and I catch her hand and slide my fingers into hers. She doesn’t resist, like it’s just normal for us to wake up in bed, chat and hold hands.
I kind of wish it was.
“Do you have plans for us today or can we enjoy one final day of bed rot before I move out tomorrow morning?” she asks.
“Oh,” I say. We haven’t discussed the logistics of her leaving. I knew she was going tomorrow, but hearing the time she’s going brings things into clarity.
One final day with Avril.
“I only have one thing planned. But I can cancel it.”
“Was it better than bed rotting?” she asks.