Page 50 of Hire A Cuddler

She opens the container and inhales it and then sticks it under my nose. “I did. You want to eat this first?”

I hold up a finger. “Okay, one bite.”

We each take a spoon, and as we scoop up a huge bite for each of us, we cackle because we think we’re funny. Nope, no little bite for us.

We start with the cake and then we go to the chicken salads. There’s no pause in the conversation, and I appreciate how easy it is to talk to Chrissy. She tells me about her job as a nurse at the hospital in Jasper, and I tell her stories about my modeling career. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Chrissy wipes her mouth with the napkin. “I can’t believe my brother didn’t send Callan with you today.”

I roll my eyes like I’m frustrated, but the truth is, I appreciate how protective he is with me. “I had to convince him that I was okay. This is exactly five miles from the house, and it’s Whiskey Run. He keeps saying he’s going to hire me a full-time driver, but I told him it would be such a waste of money.”

Chrissy shrugs and searches my eyes. “I get it, I do. You’re independent, but that’s just the way that King shows how he cares for someone. He’s not big on affection or things like that… so this is how you know he cares for you. He looks out for the people he loves.”

Her words do something to me, and I nod my head. She doesn’t know that this is fake and that her brother doesn’t love me. “Okay.”

We finish eating, and I take her on a tour of thecommunity center before telling her all the plans. We’re back to the front when my phone rings, and I hold it up. “It’s King.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, I’ll go so you two lovebirds can talk. See you soon, sis.”

“See you soon. Thank you for lunch. My treat next time.”

She points at me as she’s walking out the door. “I’ll hold you to it. Tell my brother I did my job and checked in on his wife. See you!”

I’m waving at her as I answer my phone. “Hey, husband.”

His voice is husky. “Oh I like you answering the phone that way.”

I giggle. “Chrissy just left. She fed me and kept me company. You do know I don’t need a babysitter, right?”

There’s some noise in the background, and it’s obvious his office is busy, but he doesn’t seem to care. “I know you don’t. I just hate for you to be there by yourself all day, that’s all. Is that okay?”

I sigh because how can I not completely fall in love with him? “Yeah, it’s okay.”

“Good. Do you have plans tonight?”

My heart rate picks up. “Nope. No plans.”

“Good. I have something special planned. Can you be ready by six?”

I look at the clock on my phone and see it’s only two o’clock. “I sure can.”

“Okay, I need to go, but I’ll see you at the house at six.”

“I’ll be ready,” I promise.

His voice drops. “Bye, wife.”

A thrill goes through me. “Bye, husband.”

As soon as he hangs up, I try to imagine what he could have planned. I am at a standstill for the community center, so I can take the rest of the day off and go home to get ready.

As soon as I make the decision, I pack up my things, throw my bag over my shoulder, lock up, and hustle out of the building. If I go home now, I’ll have more than enough time to shower, curl my hair, and get ready for tonight.

As I’m walking to my car, someone hollers at me, “Miss. Excuse me, miss.”

I turn, and as soon as I do, a man on a skateboard flies by and knocks me to the ground. I go sprawling face first. Jarred, I lay here for a minute, and the man that was hollering at me comes next to me. “Are you okay, miss?”

I roll to my back and look up at him. “Yeah, Ithink so.”

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