Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 40942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“Shit. Sorry. Blakely, did you cut yourself?” He reached for her, putting his hands under her arms and lifting her onto her feet.
“No, I’m all right.” She opened her hands to show him.
Relief filled him. “What were you thinking? You shouldn’t be picking up glass with your bare hands. You could cut yourself.”
“Only if some idiot scared her,” Grandpa Jack said dourly.
Yes, yes, he knew that he was the idiot.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I was just going to help clean up.”
Crap. Now he felt really bad.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he explained. “I just didn’t want you to cut yourself.”
“I’m fine. Shall I get a broom?”
He really, really needed to let her go before he drew her close and kissed her again.
“Drop the glass.” Shoot. He said it in a far harder voice than he intended and cleared his throat as Grandpa Jack glared at him. “Please.”
She was staring at him in shock. Then she glanced at her hand before looking at the floor. “Um, I . . .”
“Put it on the table, girly,” Grandpa Jack told her. “The boy will clean it up.”
“I will if you let my hand go,” she told him.
Shit. What was wrong with him today? He let her hand go quickly and stepped back.
A hint of hurt entered her face.
Yeah. He was just fucking up all the way around tonight. She set the glass down on the table.
“Please step away,” he ordered.
Her eyes grew wide and glassy.
“Boy,” Grandpa Jack warned.
“I meant away from the glass. I don’t want you stepping on it,” he told her.
“But I have shoes on,” she pointed out. “My shoelaces are even tied.”
“Please move away from the glass.” It was sending his protective instincts into overdrive.
Yes, he knew it was ridiculous. She wasn’t in any real danger, but he still couldn’t get himself to be more rational.
“All right.” She stepped back.
“Good girl,” he told her.
It was like all the air was suddenly sucked from the room. What was he doing?
Shit.
Talk about being completely unprofessional. He really needed to take a step back here. To put distance between them. Physically and emotionally.
“You’re dismissed,” he said stiffly.
“Um, I’m . . . what?” she asked, looking confused.
“Dismissed for the day. I’m sure you have other things you want to do with your free time.”
Fuck.
He hated the shocked hurt on her face. He knew he was being a dick. But he couldn’t take the words back, could he?
This was for the best.
Then why did he feel so awful as she walked away without another word?
“Boy, you best have a good reason for talking to my girl like that.” Grandpa Jack shuffled around the glass and sat in another chair. Stafford poured him a small Scotch and then grabbed the broom and pan.
“Your girl?”
“Yep. And I don’t like how you just spoke to her. So you best tell me what’s going on.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m sorry if you thought I was rude.”
“Rude? You just about eviscerated her.”
Stafford shot him a look. “What I said wasn’t that bad.”
“You know she’s a sensitive thing. Trying to work on that with her, but it’s hard going.”
“I just didn’t want her to hurt herself.”
Grandpa Jack grunted. “Really? Very concerned about her hurting herself, are you?”
“Yes. She is my employee. I have to provide a safe environment.”
“Just an employee?” Grandpa Jack asked.
“Yes. Just an employee.” He picked up the pan and emptied it.
Just an employee?
Ouch.
Blakely slipped away after that. She wasn’t sure she could stand to hear anything more. Obviously, kissing her was a huge mistake that Stafford now regretted.
She got it.
It wasn’t like he wanted her.
Why would he?
Still. It hurt. A lot.
Heading into her bedroom, she took a quick shower before getting into her favorite pajamas. They had images of wizards all over them and were a deep purple color. They were a bit short and tight around the bust, but years of washing them had made them soft and thin, so it didn’t matter to her.
Climbing into bed, she grabbed Mr. Whiskers and Mrs. Flopsy, holding them tight.
“It doesn’t matter that he just sees me as an employee,” she whispered to them. “Honestly. It’s better this way. It stops me from . . . hoping.”
It took her a long time to fall asleep, though. She kept replaying that kiss over and over in her head.
Wasn’t it just typical that the best kiss of her life came from a man who instantly regretted it.
9
Blakely walked down the hallway, yawning.
She nearly dropped the pile of clothes she was carrying. God, she was so tired.
But she wanted to get this laundry put away before she went to bed.
Trouble was, even though she was exhausted, she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep.
And Blakely needed her sleep.
Whenever she closed her eyes at the moment, she replayed that kiss from a week ago.