Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Wow, Mr. Moneybags, that was quite a gift.” She rubbed her hands along the leather steering wheel.
“Seeing her face when I drove up that day was worth every penny.”
“I love the relationship you and she have.” Abby played around with the seat, adjusting it back and forth.
I leaned against the open door. “You can drive this car on one condition.”
She looked up at me. “What?”
“Just use it to get around town. I don’t want you driving something this small on the motorway.”
“I’ll be fine on the motorway.”
“Because you’re such a good driver?” I arched a brow. “Non-negotiable, Abby.”
“Okay. Fine. Backroads only.” She sighed. “That’s all I need the car for anyway, to get around town.”
“Very well, then.” I grabbed the keys from a hook at the other side of the garage and walked them over to her. “Here are the keys.”
Abby exited the car and stuffed them into her purse. “Thank you.”
“We should get going,” I said.
“Wait. Since we’re here, do you think we could say hello to the animals?”
“I should get back to the city.”
“Okay.” She frowned. “I understand.”
But the disappointed look on her face overshadowed my better judgment. How can I say no? “Maybe just a quick visit out back before it gets dark.”
CHAPTER 13
* * *
Sig
Track 13: “Mind Your Business” by will.i.iam and Britney Spears
A quick visit turned into an hour jaunt around the property, during which I’d stepped in dung this time and gotten my balls busted for the better part of thirty minutes as a result. After going inside and cleaning up, we resumed hanging out with the animals.
Now I thought we were finally headed inside to lock up, but instead Abby grabbed my arm and led me into a small barn. She plopped down in a giant pile of hay.
“Feel free to make yourself comfortable.”
“A pile of hay just begs to be jumped in, doesn’t it? I’ve been eyeing this ever since we peeked in here earlier.” She waved me over. “Come join me, you hardass.”
I reluctantly walked over and lay down next to her. “You’ve already made me extremely late getting back to London, not to mention the excrement I wouldn’t have stepped in had I not let you convince me to stay here. I need to get going.”
“To what? Your empty apartment?”
“My sanity is waiting for me back there, yes.”
“Being around me makes you insane?”
“My sanity resides wherever I happen to be alone.”
“You know, since it’s late, you could sleep at the inn instead of going all the way back to London. We could drive together to work in the morning. Then you wouldn’t have to call me a car.”
“Or I could not waste time sitting in this pile of hay and instead get back to London at a decent hour.”
She ignored me. “Close your eyes for a moment and just breathe, Sigmund. Listen to the sounds of the animals in the distance.”
Not sure why, but I listened to her. I closed my eyes and pulled air in and out. It was rare that I took the time to pause and experience being in the moment. While I generally preferred being alone, I rarely allowed my mind to quiet. This felt foreign but not unpleasant, and perhaps needed, particularly because I was focused on the sounds of nature outside rather than my internal monologue.
When I opened my eyes, Abby still had hers closed. She really was stunning, the nostrils of her perfect, upturned nose flaring a bit with each breath she took. Her lips parted.
When she opened her eyes, I turned away. Why do I always get caught staring at her?
“Why were you looking at me?” she asked. “You were supposed to close your eyes.”
A rush of heat traveled from the base of my neck to the top of my head as I said nothing.
“Did you even close your eyes at all?” she asked.
“I did. Then I got bored. You’re more interesting than the darkness, I guess.”
“What a compliment. A step up from pure darkness.”
“While I like being alone, I don’t like quiet. It was nice for a while when I was listening to the animal sounds. But then I lost focus.”
“It’s too powerful, right? No distractions? Having to reflect and feel without turning to anything else?”
“That’s precisely why I can’t do it for long.”
Her eyes seared into mine. “Tolerating stillness is an art form. Something I’m still working on. I was actually struggling myself.”
“Struggling with drowning out your thoughts?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was trying to gauge whether the fact that I don’t feel any different means anything when it comes to the implantation. I’ve always suspected I would somehow know if I were pregnant. But I feel exactly the same.” She turned toward me. “Are you secretly hoping I’m not?”
I pondered that, knowing I owed her an honest answer. “I don’t know what I’m wishing for, Abby. On some level, I’d be relieved if you weren’t, but not entirely. It’s complicated. But it doesn’t matter, does it, if we’re going to try again anyway?”