Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Could he be occasionally kind of bossy?
Absolutely.
But, God, it was kind of hot to be bossed around by him.
Especially when he was not only taking care of me but my little girl as well.
If only it could last.
But I knew that sooner rather than later, he was going to be gone.
And we were going to be alone.
Again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Zoe
In the end, we got three days with Coast.
But the second one, I spent so much time sleeping that I really only saw him when he was forcing me to wake up to take medicine and chug sports drinks.
By the time the fever and body aches subsided and the head cold part took over, it was time for him to go.
I mean, the guy had actually borrowed a beach wagon and pulled me and Lainey around while he also held the leashes of my dog-walking clients.
“Technically, you are doing the job. I’m just helping.”
Even just as a passenger, it had been miserable each time we had to take to the streets. What with me needing to blow my nose every two seconds, having a wicked headache from sinus pressure, and a wicked sore throat, and an equally miserable—but more on the mend—Lainey riding with me.
Coast, on the other hand, had been in a splendid mood, dragging us along, talking to the dog, occasionally regaling us with one of his crazy stories or breaking into a completely inappropriate song.
But after those walks, some more soup Coast seemed determined to force down my gullet, and a full night of sleep, I woke up feeling a lot more human.
And he was getting enough texts that I knew it meant his club president was on his case about getting back home.
Playing house was over.
As much as there was a sinking sensation in my stomach and a smushing in my chest at that, I knew it was for the best.
The last thing we needed was for myself or Lainey to get attached to a man who was bound to leave eventually.
Better for us to get back to our normal life sooner rather than later.
“Sure you got this?” Coast asked as I drove him to his friend’s very fancy neighborhood where his bike was still parked on the street.
“I’m sure. I know you don’t want to hear it, but thank you. Really. I don’t know if I could have done that alone.”
“You could have,” he assured me. “But I didn’t want you to have to.”
God, there it was again. That little floating sensation in my chest that I’d been feeling all the time lately. When he would play with Lainey, when he would dote on me. When he would do something silly when he didn’t think he was being watched. Like singing in the shower. Like narrating the domestic argument going on amongst a set of seagulls.
“Seriously, though. Thank you.”
He shrugged that off. “I had fun.”
“Fun. Wiping my sweaty brow and shoving medicine down my throat. And changing diapers. And doing laundry...”
“Yeah, fun,” he said, giving me a smirk. “You take care of yourself. And Lil’ Bit.”
With that, he climbed out.
And I swear the second the door closed, the morale in the car plummeted.
Suddenly, I was acutely aware of the sinus pressure under my eyes, the way I could only breathe out of one nostril, how my hair was pulled too tight, making my scalp hurt.
As if in the same exact headspace, Lainey started to grumble and kick in her car seat.
“I know,” I agreed, since there was no one else to hear what I was about to say. “I already miss him too. But we are going to be okay without him. We are going to go take Blue on a walk,” I told her, injecting pep into my voice that I didn’t feel.
Lainey was easier to distract than I was. She hooted at Blue, watched the surroundings with wide eyes, laughed at some boys who whizzed by on their bikes while chanting some dirty rhyme.
Me? I was stuck in my head, stuck in my sour mood. Not even Blue’s whole body wiggles or his incessant kisses could lift my spirits.
All I could think of was Coast going back to his clubhouse. To the parties and women.
I had no claim on the man, but the idea of him carrying around another woman, bringing her drinks, giving her those smirks and smiles I’d grown so fond of so quickly, made my stomach churn enough that I didn’t even bother to stop and have lunch or dinner between jobs.
“I think it’s almost time to upgrade your car seat,” I told Lainey as I hauled her out of it, dreading the idea of carrying the bulky thing all the way back up to our apartment again. “Though we might have to pick up several more jobs a day to save up for one,” I added as we neared our room.