Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“In the purple palace.”
“What’s that?”
He went into the garage, slid open the van’s side door, and reached inside to pull a string, which turned on a small chandelier. Then he indicated the interior with a flourish and exclaimed, “Ta da!” The floor, walls, and ceiling were all covered with purple shag carpeting. It looked like what would happen if you climbed inside a Muppet.
“You were planning to sleep in your van?”
“I’m planning to live in it,” he said. “It’ll be weeks before I can afford to rent a room, and that’s only after I find a job.”
“How, though? Does it even have a bathroom, or a kitchen?”
“I bought a camp stove before I left Idaho, and in place of a toilet—”
“No, don’t tell me.”
He turned to me and asked, “Is it okay if I spend the weekend in your garage? I promise to be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“No way.”
His expression fell. “Oh. Okay.”
“You can stay in my guest room,” I said. “It doubles as my office, but I’m not planning to work this weekend, so it’s all yours.”
Collie beamed at me. “Thank you, Miller! That’s really nice of you.”
“Yeah, no problem. Grab your stuff, and your cat.”
Now he seemed confused. “What cat?” I pointed at his Cat Mom T-shirt, and he looked down at himself and exclaimed, “Oh! Nope, no cat. Maybe someday.” I fought the urge to ask follow-up questions.
He dove into the van and emerged a few seconds later with a toothbrush, a packet of ramen, and a fat, plush alligator that was almost as big as he was. Then he announced, “All set!”
I couldn’t help but think I was going to regret this.
2
Collie
Miller stood there staring at me like I was completely nuts. After a moment, he asked, “That’s everything you need? A toothbrush, some ramen, and a giant stuffed animal?”
“Pretty much.”
He indicated the ramen and asked, “Is that meant to be your dinner?”
“Yup. I bought two cases of it before I left home.”
“You don’t need that. I’m planning to order in, so I’ll get enough for both of us.”
“I’m on a tight budget, so I wouldn’t be able to pay you back.”
“It’s my treat.”
“Thanks, Miller. I’m going to owe you big time after this.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He watched as I chucked the ramen packet back into the van, and then he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to bring anything else inside?”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting while I went through my stuff.”
“Take your time. I’m going to change, and then I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
He looked amazing in his deep indigo jeans and form-fitting white polo shirt. I wondered what he was changing into, and if I should change, too. Actually, now that I thought about it, I should really do more than that.
I asked him, “Would it be okay if I used your shower? I started my road trip yesterday and tried to wash up this morning in the bathroom sink at a campground near Reno, but—”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Would you mind taking Hubert Humphrey inside for me? He’s pretty heavy.”
“Hubert…” I held up my alligator to show him what I meant, and he said, “Oh. Sure.”
With that, he grabbed the stuffed animal and headed for the door near the back of the garage, while I tilted my head and watched him walk away. He was really sexy. I’d thought that from the first moment I saw him. Before merging into my lane, he’d passed me in his cool, vintage, metallic blue convertible, while I completely gawked at him.
He’d looked like a movie star in his stylish sunglasses, with his short, dark hair shimmering in the sunlight. Not a single hair was out of place, even though he’d been driving with the top down. That had to be some kind of hot guy magic.
And then it turned out he was even sexier close up! He was tall and strikingly handsome, with a muscular build that made it obvious he worked out. Meanwhile, I was all of five-seven and built like Popeye’s girlfriend Olive Oyl. This guy was way out of my league, but I still had every intention of shooting my shot at some point.
All of a sudden, he turned back to me and said, “I have to ask. Hubert Humphrey, as in the former vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson?”
I tried to act casual, as if he hadn’t just caught me blatantly checking out his ass. “Exactly like that.”
“Why, though?”
“Why not?”
Miller started to say something, but then he changed his mind. He turned back to the door, typed in some numbers on a keypad, and went inside.
As soon as he was gone, I scrambled into the van and started digging through my wardrobe. It was all black. That was kind of my thing. Now that it was all stuffed into a random collection of totes, duffle bags, and suitcases, it was hard to tell what was what.