Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
“Ah,” I hum, nodding. “Yeah, clearly, professionalism isn’t on his mind today. Then again, I can hardly be the best judge of that.”
Hailey laughs, her face going pink and a spark coming back into her green eyes. “Well, I can complain about his lack of professionalism, but I’m certainly not mad about yours,” she teases, making me laugh too.
“You gonna leave me a five-star review?” I ask, smirking at her. She leans forward, playfully kicking my shin with her socked feet, her blush deepening.
“I don’t know about that.” She pretends to muse. “I might need to collect some more data before I can make a decision on what rating you deserve.”
“Oh, really?” I ask, leaning down and bracing my hands on the back of the sofa, trapping her in. I savor the way her breath hitches when I get this close, watching the way her pulse flutters in her throat. I steal a quick kiss before backing up, turning serious. “I want you to know that I want more than just something physical, Hailey,” I tell her. “I want more than just one day or night.”
Hailey’s lips form a perfect o as she considers my words. “I would like that, too,” she agrees, tucking her hair behind her ears and fiddling with the blonde strands nervously. It’s cute as hell.
“Can I take you out tomorrow? On a proper date, like you deserve,” I ask, trying to play it cool but internally desperate for her to say yes. I’m addicted to this girl, and I need to see her again as soon as possible. I know I can’t hang around here all day. I have another client to go to, scheduled for after the one that canceled and gave me the chance to come back to Hailey, and she clearly has a lot of work to get done, too, if the emails Lucas was mad about are anything to go off of. But I can’t leave without knowing for sure that I’ll see her again soon.
“Yes,” Hailey says, the flush on her face making me want to get her all flustered all over again. I manage to find some self-control, though, reassuring myself that there’ll be plenty of time for that soon. “Just make sure to text me where we’re going so I can make sure I’m dressed right.”
I chuckle, unable to help myself. Hailey would look edible even if she wore a damn trash bag. “You could wear anything and look incredible.”
She fiddles with her hair again but rolls her eyes at my comment. “I take pride in my outfits, I’ll have you know,” she sasses back. “I’m a fashion and lifestyle influencer. I make my own clothes. I can’t be caught dead looking anything but perfect for the event. This is a serious matter.”
There’s a smirk tugging at her lips even as she lectures me, one I can’t help but return. “Apologies,” I drawl. “I didn’t realize just how high the stakes were. Rest assured, I’ll keep you informed dutifully.”
She giggles but forces herself to act seriously as she says, “Good. As you should.”
I catch sight of the time on her colorful wall clock and curse under my breath. “I’ve got to get to the next job, but I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
She nods, standing to see me out. “I should get back to work, too,” she says, though she doesn’t look excited by the idea of answering emails.
“Once you do all your emails, you get to have fun planning your outfit, though,” I say, trying to cheer her up. She grins, nodding.
“True, I do love putting together the perfect pieces,” she says.
“No pressure on my end, then,” I mutter, mentally running through every outfit in my wardrobe.
She laughs. “I can plan your outfit, too, if you want,” she teases, and I roll my eyes playfully, but, to be honest, I like the mental vision of her picking out complimentary outfits for us both for date nights from a shared wardrobe. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I’ve never been so sure of anything as I am that this girl was meant to be mine.
She sees me to her door, but before I go, I grab her around the waist and tug her towards me. I need another taste of her to see me through until tomorrow, after all. I kiss her hungrily, leaving her flushed and dazed before I say goodbye.
“I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow,” I call out as I head down the path to my van, turning back before I climb in to catch sight of her waving at me before the door closes.
The only thing I can think of for the rest of the day is Hailey and how, one day, I’m going to make her my wife.
4
HAILEY
Turns out, curating the perfect date night outfit was far easier than I’d anticipated since I woke up this morning to a box from my favorite brand. Their dresses are always stunning, and this time, they sent me three to pick from and promote on my socials. I love collabs like this, where I genuinely love the items being sent to me. It makes it so easy to do my job well.