Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Sounds cheesy as fuck to me.”
“It would. You’re twenty-five. Basically, you’re a dick with a job. You like cars, booze, and pussy.”
Nope. Not gonna talk pussy with a guy who’s old enough to be my father.
“But any girl worthy of chasing will not be impressed by those pastimes.”
“Okay.” I press my lips together and give him a sharp nod while backing my way out of the room. “Thanks for the talk. I’ll give all your expert advice careful consideration.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you will.” He steps into the bathroom and fixes his hair in the mirror.
I find Callie downstairs in a biking getup that matches the one I’m wearing.
Seriously, kill me now.
People will either think I’m dating a cougar, or they’ll think I’m taking a tour with my mom—in matching outfits.
An orange jumpsuit is looking better and better to me.
Chapter Six
Flynn
Callie purchases our tour tickets at the counter. A family of four is being fitted with their bikes and helmets. I don’t see June anywhere. Even though she’s the reason for today’s Adventures of the Muse and Minneapolis’s Richest Woman, I will wholeheartedly believe there is a God if June is not working today.
“Flynn?”
Too late.
June steps into the rundown shop, pulling her hair over her shoulder to braid it. She makes a slow inspection of my attire. There’s a limit to everyone’s confidence. This is mine.
“Nice digs. Are you buying a bike?” she asks.
“My boss wanted to take a bike tour.”
She shifts her gaze to Callie at the front desk. “Oh, that’s … interesting. Well, let’s get you fitted for a bike and helmet.”
I adjust my shorts. They hide nothing in the front and make me look like I’m wearing a soggy diaper in the back because they’re too big.
“Thanks, Tim,” June says to the guy helping the family of four. “I’ll take it from here. Sorry I’m a little late. My roommate lost her car keys and was crashing out.”
I tear my gaze from her as Callie hands me a tablet to sign away my life for the bike tour. After I give it back to her, June nods for me to step closer, giving me a helmet. I put it on, and her fingers graze my neck as she adjusts the strap. My dick had better not get any ideas about an erection in these goddamn bike shorts. Just in case, I rest my folded hands over my junk and think of Rupert’s naked backside covered in hair and a ridiculous number of moles. Anything to discourage my boner.
“How’s the muse job going today?” she asks. Her brown eyes flit from the strap to my face. Her voice is soft, like she’s intentionally trying to keep everyone else from hearing her.
“Look at me. Who wouldn’t be inspired by this?” I mumble.
She giggles. “How does that feel?”
I know she’s talking about the helmet and the strap, but all I feel is warmth and a shit-eating-grin level of happiness just being close to her. “Fine,” I say in a raspy voice before clearing my throat.
“Have you been on an e-bike before?”
“No.”
“Okay. Then go stand over there by those two kids, and I’ll walk you through it after I get your boss fitted with her helmet.”
“You really take bike tours seriously, huh?” the adolescent boy says to me.
I bite back the fuck you and opt for a screw-you smile instead. His older sister elbows him, as she should.
“Nice to see you again. We didn’t get to formally meet at the gallery. I’m June.” She shakes Callie’s hand.
“It’s my pleasure. I’m Callie.”
As my shitty luck would have it, Callie has been on an e-bike, so it’s just me and the two kids getting trained. After we pass the quick test, June leads the group across the street to the bike lane. The family stays in front with June, followed by Callie and me bringing up the rear. What’s the point of this?
We stop at various buildings, parks, and monuments for June to rattle off her prepared speeches on things like the history of mining and logging, a mill explosion, and the story of a bridge collapsing. At some point she mentions Paul Bunyan and an ox. She teaches me more history than I learned in school. Everything she says fascinates me because she’s the one saying it.
“This is my favorite stop for spotting wildlife,” she says when we take a break along the trail in the middle of a park. “Last week, I saw an American woodcock doing its mating dance over there and a beaver by the water.”
I snort.
Everyone shifts their attention to me, so I clear my throat. “Sorry. I think a bug flew into my mouth.”
Callie nods as if I’m telling the truth, and the family just as quickly returns their attention to our trusted tour guide. But June keeps looking at me through narrowed eyes. Come on, woodcock is funny. And the fact that it does a mating dance is even funnier. Right?