Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Damien was never nervous, and yet, tonight, he was nervous that I would turn him down.
Tears of joy slid down my cheeks as I nodded and launched myself out of my chair at him, knocking us both to the ground as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him for all he was worth.
Lacie was wrong. This man was good in his own fucked-up way.
And that night, he made love to me beneath the stars. His touch wasn’t bruising like it normally was. We didn’t fuck in the hard way we usually did.
This man took his time loving me, cherishing me.
And when I came, tears of happiness slid down my face because, despite everything, I knew Damien was absolutely perfect for me.
10
Quinn sat down beside me and snatched the remote from the coffee table, aiming it at the TV. I frowned at him when he changed the channel. “I was watching that.”
He snorted. “Yeah, and I just had a dick up my ass.” I scrunched my nose up at him in disgust. He laughed. “I’m kidding. Girl, it was sarcasm. You were staring at the TV, not watching it. Big difference.”
I sighed. Damien had been gone for two days with Miles now, taking care of business. That was all I knew. Damien didn’t offer more details, and I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my place to, and I wasn’t keen on arguing with him right before he left.
I sighed. “I’m worried,” I told Quinn honestly. “Does it normally take them this long?”
“Depends on the job, girly,” he told me honestly.
I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest, hugging them as I watched Quinn flip through the TV channels. He eventually settled on the old Scream, which thankfully held my attention. Scream was the only scary movie that I could stand watching. It was more humorous than anything.
“Why don’t you look at some more dresses?” Quinn asked me once the movie was over.
The wedding was drawing closer. Damien and I had both agreed to get married within six months. Three months had already passed, and I still hadn’t picked out a dress. Nothing spoke to me, and I wanted to make sure that the dress Damien bought for me was the one I knew was the one.
Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and Miles strode in—alone. I jerked up from the couch, my alarmed eyes meeting his. Fear slammed into my gut. “Miles?” I choked out, my body trembling.
He gathered me into his arms.
No!
I froze—my entire body locked up. I already knew it was going to be bad.
“He got arrested.” My ears started ringing. He ran his hand down my hair. “I can’t get him out, Hayley. Judge isn’t granting bail.”
I sobbed, my knees giving out. Miles sank to the ground with me, holding me tightly in his arms as I cried against his chest. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
We were getting married. Damien had promised me forever.
Miles just held me on his lap, gently rocking me back and forth, his fingers combing through my red tresses as I sobbed out my pain.
Because Damien was gone.
And I doubted he was coming back.
11
A month and a half had passed since the rug was pulled out from beneath my feet, leaving me feeling like I was spiraling.
And the longer Damien and I were apart, the more I realized Lacie was right.
Because Miles? He never treated me like Damien did. He was sweet and kind. He was open with me—as much as he could be, anyway.
Miles had become a very, very close friend during the time Damien was away. And the two cousins were polar opposites of each other.
And today, he was standing by my side as we sat in the courtroom, waiting to see what Damien’s sentence would be. He was pleading not guilty to whatever charges had been put against him; I knew that much.
But he hadn’t spoken to me since he went inside. I’d asked Miles why, especially since he wouldn’t take a call from me, and Miles had informed me that was just the way men worked when they went inside. They kept their bad shit away from their women.
But I wanted Damien to let me in.
I hated that it took me so long to realize that he was never going to do that.
I clutched Miles’s hand tightly in mine, surprised I wasn’t cutting off his circulation with my tight grip. He just let me, his eyes focused on the jury as they walked back into the room. It hadn’t taken them long to deliberate, and I was terrified of what that would mean for Damien.
It wasn’t until the words “we find Damien Parrish guilty on all counts” sounded through the room that what was left of my world shattered.
I bit my lip to keep from screaming, drawing blood as I did so. I watched as he was sentenced to twenty years of prison with a chance of parole after ten. He didn’t turn to look at me as he was led from the room out a side door.