Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
It was cute how desperate he was. Wade and Carla started dating when they were ten years old, and at prom, she was seven months pregnant with his first child. Shae was at their wedding, and he was godfather to all of their children.
“Shae, my man, it has been too long since I saw you in here,” Wade said. “I heard a little rumor about you and a certain bak—”
“Wade, let me introduce you to my date. Peyton Bride, meet my good friend, Wade Liamson.”
His friend went a bright shade of red. “We already know each other. Carla goes into the shop every Saturday.”
“Yes, the bribery run,” Peyton said.
Shae didn’t like it because for the last three days, he had been the perfect gentleman to Peyton. He’d been nice and polite, licking her pussy as well. Not once had he gotten a smile from her pretty lips.
“Do you have a bathroom?” Peyton asked.
“You never been here before?” he asked, not entirely surprised, seeing as she was also a virgin.
She turned her attention back to him. “Er, no, I ... haven’t.”
“Just across the room, right there,” Wade said. “And it’s clean.”
Shae let her go, and watched as she made her way across the room, aware of men looking her way. She was stunning and didn’t even realize it. She was going to drive him crazy. Of that, he had no doubt.
“You and Peyton?” Wade asked.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“No, I heard the rumors, but seeing as you didn’t come and tell me, I figured they were exactly that.”
“Rumors?”
“You know, you and your men turning up at the bakery. A lot of people figured Peyton owed you, or Lily-May was causing trouble.”
He wasn’t about to tell Wade their private business.
“What can I get you?” Wade asked, already knowing he wasn’t going to get answers.
“A beer and a soda,” he said. “And you can tell me how I can get her to do that.”
Wade looked up at him. “Do what?”
“Smile?”
Wade frowned and then smirked. “Okay, hold up a damn minute, Peyton’s your date, and we already know she’s staying at your ranch. I also know you don’t allow any woman to stay with you. Like, no one stays at your ranch or even goes to your ranch. I also know that based on what your daddy used to say, when you found a woman, you and that woman would be together for life.”
Shae looked to his friend, and it was the first time he wanted to knock that smile right off his face, because he looked way too smug.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Give me a minute, all right, to bask in knowing that my best friend knows exactly how I feel about Carla.”
When they were kids, Shae had his doubts about Wade and Carla marrying so young. He thought it was a mistake. Both of them had proven him wrong, and were still going strong. Eight babies, and still, they were as much in love now as they were when they were kids.
If this was how Wade had felt, then Shae was even happier for his friends. This feeling wasn’t easy to digest. It was fucking ruthless. He felt possessive.
Leaving her every single morning was fucking hard. The best part of his day was waking up beside her, coming to collect her from work, and holding her in his arms.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, you were right, now tell me what to fucking do!” He wasn’t interested in playing games or trying to win an argument. Wade was one of the few people he trusted.
“You got to win her over,” Wade said. “You got to ... let her trust you. I don’t know what the deal is between the two of you, and I don’t see you telling me, but clearly, this is not you just going into her shop and asking for a date.”
He stared at his friend, and he made it sound like it would have been so easy, but he knew differently. This was not easy. Dating was not easy.
Once again, Wade laughed and was not proving to be much help.
****
Peyton didn’t drink. She didn’t go to bars.
She stayed home on prom night and helped her mother and father practice new baking methods. No one asked her to prom, and she wasn’t going to be laughed at and sit around watching everyone. She loved baking and watching movies, eating what they had baked, and enjoying way more ice cream than she probably should have.
After washing her hands, she stepped out of the bathroom. The noise was so loud, and she looked toward the band. Usually she listened to classical music, but this felt more like heavy rock, and she liked it. The music flowed through her body and felt so good.
“Hey, beautiful,” a man said, coming close to her.
She didn’t say hello. She didn’t recognize him, and she put him down as a tourist and quickly started to look toward the bar.