Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Climbing him like a tree was still a little bit embarrassing.
But he didn’t seem like he was annoyed. If anything he was fiercely insistent that she get all the cuddles she required.
And when she thought about it . . . that was kind of sweet, right?
“I need a subscription rate.”
“What?” She blinked at him in confusion.
“You know, pay five dollars a week, swear as much as you want.”
“I don’t think you quite understand the concept of a swear jar,” she informed him. “It’s supposed to deter you from swearing.”
“Not happening. You can’t get a leopard to change its spots. You just have to accept it the way it is.”
“I . . .” Shoot. He was right. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was changing you.”
“Didn’t say I felt that way. Just telling you I’m gonna be broke because of that swear jar. What’s it going towards anyway?”
“I really want to go on vacation to Florida and I want everyone to come with me. Like a family holiday. None of them know. I wanted it to be a surprise. I’ve been saving my own money, too. I don’t have a lot of expenses, mainly because Jenner won’t let me darn well pay for anything. The swear jar supplements the savings.” She shrugged.
“That’s a sweet idea, sweetness,” he told her.
Well. Maybe.
But she also wanted to curb their swearing too.
14
Immy ended her call with Maeve. She glanced around her hotel room, feeling antsy. Tobias had gone to his room for a moment, then he was coming back to get her so they could meet up with Jenner and Sampson.
She wasn’t sure why she’d even come with Jenner on this trip. It wasn’t like he seemed to need her for anything.
She sent him another text about the interview he had this afternoon.
Nothing.
With a groan, she messaged Sampson instead. No way was she messaging Lauren.
Immy: Hey, where am I supposed to meet up with you guys for the interviews this afternoon?
Sampson: Going straight there from here.
Well. At least someone was answering her messages.
Immy: Okay, I’ll meet you there.
Sampson: No. Stay at the hotel. We don’t need you.
Ouch.
She sucked in a breath, blinking back ridiculous tears. She knew that Sampson didn’t mean that the way it sounded. He was always a bit blunt, but especially when he was worried.
He was concerned about Maeve. Sampson had always taken it personally when one of them was in danger or threatened.
Not that any of them had ever had a stalker before.
Immy didn’t really want to stay in the hotel for the whole day.
Grabbing a light jacket and handbag, she headed toward the door.
Then she came to a stop with a groan. Tobias.
She could try to sneak out, but she knew that would just upset everyone. And it wasn’t the mature thing to do.
Even though, sometimes, she just wanted to do the immature thing. To stomp her foot, hide under the covers from everything and eat Twizzlers and drink diet soda until she exploded. To binge watch movies and pretend that she didn’t have responsibilities. That she didn’t have to adult today.
And maybe for the afternoon she didn’t have to. Perhaps she could just be Immy, the girl without worries or fears. Someone whose best friends weren’t acting strange or didn’t have stalkers threatening them.
But she would do it safely, because Immy never wanted anyone to worry about her.
So she messaged Tobias and there was a knock on her door a few minutes later. She opened it, smiling up at Tobias. “Want to go have some fun?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Am I going to like this?”
“Debatable. But you can come with me or I’m going on my own. Either way, I’m going.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorway. “Nope.”
“Nope? Nope, what? Nope, you’re not coming with me?”
“Nope, this isn’t the way this works.”
“This?” she questioned.
He brushed a finger through the air pointing at her, then at himself. “Us.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
Down, Immy.
He doesn’t mean ‘us.’
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” she said huffily.
He stepped forward, leaning over her. “I mean that I’m in charge, Little girl. And you do what I say. Not the other way around.”
“Is this because I climbed you like a tree this morning?” she whispered.
Little girl?
She wasn’t a Little. At least . . . that’s what she told herself.
Only, she was starting to believe that less and less.
Idiot.
The way she’d acted around him earlier this morning . . . yeah, it had been embarrassing. It had also shown her how much she actually trusted him. Because even though she couldn’t help being zombie-like, she’d also never tried to climb her father like a tree.
Just Jenner.
And now Tobias.
And she wasn’t going to read too much into that. Because she didn’t really have the headspace for it right now.