Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“Oh,” she said quietly.
“Oh, what?”
“That was hot.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes. That was her response? Of course, it was. What the fuck was I expecting? Her to tell me to be quiet, that it was inappropriate, or that I had no business saying any of that to her?
I should have known better.
This was Rose after all.
She’d never once done what I’d expected.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” I said in a low voice.
She laughed. “Ah, my plan is coming to fruition.”
If it were anyone else, I’d think it was a joke.
But, Rose?
Nah. She was deadly serious.
Death by Rose.
What did it say about me that I wouldn’t mind dying at her hand?
Fuck. I needed a hobby.
“Just stay out of trouble,” I grumbled, rubbing my hand down my face. “Don’t get arrested, all right?”
“For the hundredth time, I don’t get arrested. I get put in time out.”
“A jail cell is a jail cell.”
“Yeah, but that one is mine.”
“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I admitted.
“Good. Bamboozling you is the top of my daily to-do list,” she replied, her voice bright and airy. “Don’t you have anything better to do than talk to me? Aren’t you busy?”
“Mm. But how can work possible be better than listening to whatever chaos is going to come out of your mouth?”
“If I didn’t know better, Your Grace, I’d say you’re embracing my weirdness.”
I smiled, sitting back down at my desk. “Embracing? I think I did that a while ago.”
“That’s true. You don’t even get mad when I do irritating things anymore. Hmm.” She smacked her lips together. “Maybe I’ll have to up the ante.”
“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows and fiddled with a pen. “Like what?”
“Release a plague of locusts in your bedroom. Sprinkle sugar through your McMansion and watch as you have a never-ending stream of ants move in as roommates.”
“Why are your ideas both bugs?”
“Do bugs not bother you? Darn. Oh, I know. I’ll plant bindweed all through your garden.”
I paused. “Bindweed?”
“Oh, yeah. That stuff is like me. Relentless, annoying, and impossible to get rid of.”
My lips curled into a small smile, and I dipped my head as if to hide it from myself. “Sounds like an absolute nightmare.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” she replied brightly. “Oh, I have to go. Waffles has tried to attack the mayor.”
“Give him a treat from me. I can’t stand that guy.”
A burst of laughter crackled down the phone, and my heart skipped at the sheer joy that was in it. “Noted. Maybe you two will be friends yet.”
“Maybe. If I can make you like me, anything is possible.”
She paused. “Piss off.”
Then she hung up.
I put my phone down and leant back in my chair, laughing.
Well, like was a strong word.
But she definitely didn’t hate me anymore.
“Here.”
I looked up from securing my cufflink. “What’s that?”
“What you asked for.” Luke flattened his lips into a thin line. “Are you sure about this?”
I secured the cufflink then took the envelope from him, slipping out the contents. I scanned the first page and nodded. “One hundred percent.”
“You’re lucky there was no penalty to pay.”
“There’s nothing lucky about it. Their acquisition has dragged out too long and we never completed. I just used that to my advantage.” I tucked the papers back into the envelope. “Did Piers look these over?”
I knew my lawyer wouldn’t mess up, but I needed to be sure. This agreement had to be airtight, ironclad, something that was completely unbreakable.
Luke nodded, albeit unhappily. “You just need to check over the clauses you wanted added, then he’ll send the final contract. Said it’ll take a few days though as he’s in court this week.”
“All right, good. I’ll do that later.” I set it on the unit in the dressing room and looked at my best friend. “What are you so pissed about?”
“Nothing.”
“Luke.”
He sighed. “I just don’t get why you’re doing this. The allotments were the first place you decided to offload because of the value of the land. Now, you potentially have to lose more, less valuable land, just because, what? Rose Matthews won’t give up her hissy fit about it?”
I smiled wryly. “This decision has nothing to do with her never-ending hissy fit. Besides, if she didn’t have this to protest, the Rose I know would find something else to rally against.”
Luke snorted. “Listen to yourself.”
“What? It’s true. I know her far better than you do. That’s just the kind of person she is.” I picked up my other cufflink. “I’ve seen what that place means to everyone there, and it isn’t as if selling that land is the only way to raise the funds needed. I can apply for grants for historic homes. I’ll do some jiggling and put my own personal money into it. Selling that land was the easiest option, but it’s different now.”