Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“I’m Wheeler, Mollie’s business partner and true soulmate. Don’t tell Cash.” She crosses the room to hold out her hand. “I’ve already heard so much about you, Ava.”
“You have?” I laugh, my face flushing with heat. Sawyer’s been talking about me? So has Sally? I’m more flattered than I should be. “It’s nice to meet you, Wheeler.”
“It’s actually really cute how obsessed Sawyer is with you.” She sets down the laptop on a nearby desk. “He’s so freaking excited for your date, I can’t even begin to tell you. Actually, he won’t stop telling all of us about it.”
Grinning, Mollie shakes her head. “He wants everything to be perfect. I hope y’all have the best time.”
“I hope y’all knock boots,” Wheeler adds. “Preferably while you’re wearing a pair of ours. Which ones do you like?”
“All of them.” I put my hand on the almond-shaped toe of an ivory pair. “I’m in love with these. Weird if I say I’m kind of in love with y’all too?”
But I’m definitely, unequivocally not in love with Sawyer. I like him, yes. So, so much. That alone is terrifying. I can’t think about anything beyond that without my vital organs doing several unpleasant backflips, the kind that happen when you hit unexpected turbulence on a plane.
But this thing with Sawyer, whatever it turns out to be, is a hell of a lot of fun right now. How could I not enjoy the freedom he gives me to just be myself? The more I think about it, the more the realization crystallizes that I never had this much fun with Dan.
He never embraced my free-spirited side the way Sawyer does.
Wheeler loops her arm through mine. “The way you’ve lit Sawyer up, I think we’re all a little in love with you.”
My heart thumps. “He wasn’t lit up before?”
“Ella always lights him up, of course,” Mollie explains. “But from what I understand—I’m relatively new around here too—he’s had a bit of a rough road. Cash says Sawyer is the one who took their parents’ deaths the hardest. He’s always putting everyone else first. I’m glad he’s changing that up now that you’re around. He seems …”
“Relaxed,” Wheeler says. “Less anxious.”
My chest glows at the compliment. Even as I feel like I don’t necessarily deserve it. Isn’t he putting me first whenever we’re together? I try to return the favor as best as I can, but he can be so overwhelming in his desire to please, to nurture, that it’s not an easy task.
Oh, you poor, sweet, sexy-ass cowboy. I’m gonna show you the best time ever on Saturday.
“Aw, thanks for saying that,” I say. “You guys sure know how to make a gal feel good.”
Wheeler gestures to the wall of boots. “It’s kind of our whole job. So, Ava, talk to me about your ideal vibe for Saturday night.”
“Oooh, this is fun!” Mollie claps her hands. “I don’t want to give away too much—”
“So you know exactly what Sawyer is planning,” I say, blushing even harder. I’m going to kill this man.
And after that, I am going to kiss the shit out of him.
“I do. He required some of my, how shall we say it? Expertise in certain areas.”
Wheeler shrugs. “Told you he wanted everything to be perfect.”
My heart is in my throat now. He’s putting a lot of effort into this date.
Like, a lot.
Part of me wants to run for the hills. Sawyer doesn’t fuck around. He likes me.
But if I’m being honest, I like him too. How could I not? We’ve covered a hell of a lot of ground in the short time we’ve known each other.
Which is slightly terrifying if I think about it. I already feel all mushy and tender inside. I already can’t wait to see him again. When I ran into him at drop-off this morning, I couldn’t stop smiling after he cracked an innocuous joke that was actually very dirty—one about his coffee not being as good as it was the other day.
He ghosts me now, it’ll hurt.
He disappoints me down the road after I fall head over heels in love with him—maybe he, I don’t know, suddenly decides he isn’t so into my wild side—it’ll absolutely destroy me.
It’s not just me anymore I have to look out for. June is part of this too. So is Ella. Sawyer and I don’t have the luxury of falling apart if—when—shit hits the fan.
But God, does it feel good to be this excited for a date. I always thought my early twenties was when the magic would happen. And magic did happen in my mid-twenties, when I had June. I just wish someone had told me that the best was yet to come—that life doesn’t end after you get married, or have a baby, or go through a divorce.
In many ways, that’s when my life really began. My life, the one where I get to be unapologetically who I really, truly am.