Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Hey.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Getting ready to go out with friends, why?”
“Can you cancel?”
I swore, I instantly saw red. “Why have you not told your mother? Sean, so help me, I’m going to do it.”
“I will, but Declan came over earlier today and caused a scene and—”
“Sean, I’m not doing this. I want to move on with my life, and I can’t do that if I’m pretending to be your girlfriend.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you need to tell your mother tonight. If you don’t, I’ll tell her tomorrow.”
“What’s the rush, Harper?”
“The rush is I don’t want to do this anymore! I’m tired of this game.”
He huffed. “I got you season tickets.”
“You can have them back, Sean. I’m. Done. And by the way, I’m going out with Declan tonight.”
The line was dead silent for a moment before Sean cleared his throat. “You’re going out with my brother?”
“I am. We’re going to meet some friends for trivia night. So, as you can imagine, I’d like for this charade to be over.”
“I just need more time!”
Frustrated, I asked, “For what, Sean? Your mother is never going to stop wanting you with Crystal unless you man the hell up and tell her you like Caroline. That Crystal is like a sister to you. And fake-dating someone else isn’t changing anything. Does Caroline even know you like her?”
“I haven’t said anything since she has a boyfriend.”
“Did she have one when you broke up with me?”
He cleared his throat but refused to answer.
“I’ll take that as a no. But you were afraid your mother wouldn’t be happy if you asked her out.”
“You have no idea what life is like with my mother, Harper.”
“Oh, I have a great idea, Sean. I dated you for several years, remember?”
He let out a long breath. “One more day, Harper. Please.”
“No. I was an idiot for even going along with this. It’s over. You’ve got until tomorrow morning to tell her, or I will.”
I hit End and pushed my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, checked my makeup once more, then stared at my reflection.
“You’re doing the right thing, Harper. He has to tell his mother. He has to grow up.”
The doorbell for the back door rang, and I grabbed my purse and a light jacket and headed down the steps. When I opened the door, my heart stumbled at the sight of Declan. He was so damn handsome, and so…manly…but his smile gave him a boyish look that I loved.
“Ready?” he asked.
“I’m so ready. Did you want to walk down? That way we can both have a drink.”
“Sure, it’s just a few blocks, and God knows I could use as much fresh air as possible.”
As we started to walk, Declan reached down and took my hand in his. My pulse instantly kicked up in rhythm, and the warmth of his touch spread across my entire body.
“Were you deployed in parts of the world without fresh air?”
He shrugged. “Not fresh like we’re used to. Hot deserts, muggy forests, and sometimes even the frigid tundra.”
I shuddered. “I can’t do cold.”
Declan stopped, causing me to stop as well. When I faced him, he gave me a quizzical look.
“What?”
“You can’t do cold, yet you live in Upstate New York? Close to Canada? Where the winters can be brutal?”
I giggled. “Okay, yes, I see what you’re saying, but I hate the winter months. Hate them. I can never get warm enough, ya know?”
“I do know what you mean. It seems easier to cool off than to warm up.”
“Yes!” I said as we started walking once again. “It feels like it takes me forever to warm up. That said, I love it when we get that first snow, and everything is so beautiful. It looks fresh and clean, and when the sun hits the snow, it reminds me of diamonds.”
“There’s something magical about that first snowfall. I wonder at what point in life we stopped waking up to find snow on the ground, all excited to play in it, and groaned at the sight of it, instead. Grumpy because the sidewalks need shoveling, the car needs cleaning off. I miss that part of childhood.”
“I guess you don’t have to wake up groaning. Wake up and decide you’re going to go out and play in it.”
“At thirty-five?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Why not? There are no rules about who can and can’t enjoy the snow. I don’t see why we, as adults, can’t go out and have a good snowball fight, build a snowman, or even make snow angels.”
Declan squeezed my hand. “I wish everyone thought that way. I was right earlier.”
We stopped outside of the Moose Village Hotel and faced one another. I looked up at Declan and asked, “You were right about what?”
He placed his palm on my cheek, and I leaned into it on impulse. “When I told Sean that he didn’t deserve you. You’re an extraordinary woman who deserves to be treated like a queen.”