Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Now I don’t know where I’ll go. I hate this feeling.
I head out of the spare bedroom, following the smell of bacon all the way to Paxton’s kitchen. He sets two plates of food down on his small dining room table, smiling at me. “Thought you might be hungry,” he says as he takes a seat.
“I am,” I say, my heart warming at the gesture. Paxton has always been exceptionally good at reading me, and he knows food is one of my main love languages.
I scoop up my fork and dig into the eggs and bacon before biting a piece of the toast that he's covered with blackberry jam, my favorite. I take a dramatic sip of the coffee as well, sighing contently.
“Thank you,” I say. “For everything.” It's hard to encompass how much he's done for me in the last twenty-four hours, and this breakfast might just push me into tears. I do my best to force them back and give him a brave smile.
“Of course,” he says, taking a few bites. “So, what are your plans for the day?”
I blow out a breath, using the bite I've just taken as an excuse to think of the correct answer. He's already done so much for me, it's hard to think about dumping all my stress on him even more. But he's my best friend, and I'm never going to lie to him.
“I’ll need to spend the day apartment hunting,” I finally answer, shaking my head, still angry that I’m giving up my place just to regain my peace. “I highly doubt I’ll find something within a week, but I’ll do my best. I'll probably have to sacrifice a few things, but anything will be better than living next to..." I don't even bother saying his name. I wouldn’t even call him my ex since I never thought of us as a couple in the first place. Sure, we'd been dating, but we'd never reached the title stage, at least not on my end.
Paxton leaves the sentence hanging there, not asking me to divulge anything more, which I'm grateful for. Not that I wouldn’t explain if he asked, but my head is killing me, my to-do list growing exponentially in my mind.
“You know,” Paxton says after we've finished eating, pushing away from the table and grabbing our plates as he heads to the kitchen.
I quickly follow him, not wanting him to wait on me hand and foot.
“I might actually know a place,” he says as he puts the dishes into the sink.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, my eyebrows raising as I playfully shove him away from the sink and start washing our plates. “Where is it?”
He settles next to me, a cup towel in one hand as he extends the other, taking the clean plate from me and drying it. “Here,” he says once he's dried the other plate and put them up in his cabinet.
I take the cup towel out of his hands, drying mine before I hang it up above the sink. “What?”
“Here,” he says again, motioning around the room. “I already put your stuff in the spare bedroom,” he continues. “The room is yours, if you want it. I have a ton of space, and you can stay here as long as you like. Give you the time to find an apartment that’s perfect for you instead of settling because of a time crunch.”
Elation soars through me. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he says. “It's not like we haven't sort of lived together before,” he teases.
I laugh. “Spending two weeks in a villa in Rome with our families doesn’t really equate to living together.”
“I mean, we slept in the same room and brushed our teeth at the same time. Had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Pretty close.” He shrugs, an easy smile on his lips. It’s a simple gesture, but damn, he looks so good standing there like that, his light gray T-shirt stretching tight over his muscled chest.
“How much will rent be?” I ask. I know he bought this house outright with money from his Badger contract, but that doesn't mean I’ll stay here for free.
“No rent,” he says, shaking his head as he straightens a few things on his kitchen counter next to where I stand. The action draws him closer and warm shivers skate across my skin. “Putting up with me will be enough of a payment for you,” he says.
“Oh, stop it,” I say, playfully nudging his chest. He doesn't budge an inch, so my hand just sort of lingers there for a moment. “You're the easiest person to be around.” I drop my hand, but we're still so close. It's not a new thing, this physical affection and comfortability with it, but it's been ramping up in tension for a while now.
Living with him would make that need inside me so much stronger.