Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
“Maggie isn’t hiding any pain.” She pretty much blurted out her every thought. He doubted she could hold back anything.
Chloe shrugged, looking unconvinced.
“Chloe, you’ve known her five minutes,” he told her gently. “And I don’t know what she told you, but she doesn’t seem worried or traumatized to me.”
“Maybe not. But just try to be a bit gentler, Ian. For her sake. And yours. If you find out later on that she’s hurting . . . I don’t want you to feel bad.” Chloe walked away.
He shook his head. She had no idea what she was talking about.
Obviously, the misfit had done something to make her believe that nonsense. He needed to keep a closer eye on her. Keep her from making trouble.
And that was the only reason he wanted to be around her.
“This is where you used to live?” she asked Uncle Willy as they stared out at a gorgeous two-story house. It was off-white with a dark roof and surrounded by palm trees.
“Yes, this was Lia’s family home. I lived here for close to fifteen years with her before she . . . before she . . .”
She reached over and grasped hold of his hand. He held on tight. She could feel him shaking.
“Do you want to get out of the car? Go look around?” she asked. “I’m sure the people who live here won’t mind.”
“No,” he said sharply, pulling his hand away. “No, I won’t go inside.”
“All right, you don’t have to,” she murmured soothingly.
But he was agitated. Upset.
Monkeyballs.
Anxiety tugged at her and she wished she had Ziggy with her.
This had been a bad idea. But she hadn’t known how to say no when he’d suggested it on their way back to their accommodations. So here they were, sitting in a car outside the house where he used to live with Lia.
And she knew she had to get him away from there before things got worse. Or someone noticed his strange reaction.
“Let’s leave.”
“No!” He turned to her, giving her a sharp look. “Not yet.”
“All right. Not yet.”
Thankfully, the privacy screen was up between them and the driver’s seat, so Beck couldn’t see or hear anything. But soon, he was going to start wondering why they were just sitting here.
“Uncle Willy?” she whispered after ten minutes of silence passed.
“We can leave.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief as she let Beck know.
“So you know the queen quite well?” she asked.
“Isobelle and Lia were the best of friends,” Uncle Willy told her. “And I became close to Isobelle and the Kings when I lived here.”
Wow.
When they returned to their accommodation, Uncle Willy went up to his room without a word.
“He’s a bit upset,” she explained to Beck.
The big man nodded in understanding. “I get it. I would be too if anything happened to Chloe.”
“She’s lovely,” she said truthfully.
“Best thing that ever happened to us. We don’t deserve her.”
“It all works okay?” she asked. “I mean, uh, with having that many people in a relationship, I was wondering if . . . if it all works well?” And yes, she knew she’d just repeated herself.
But today was a day for being a big fat dork, it seemed.
“Yeah. It works better than okay.” He gave her a smile. “I know it seems unusual when you’ve grown up differently. But this . . . for us . . . it’s right.”
She nodded, unsure what to say. This was actually the most she’d heard Beck speak.
“I’m probably not the one to ask. Hux is better at explaining stuff. But we . . . balance each other. And it means there’s always someone who is there for Chloe. To keep her safe. To protect her.”
Damn.
His protectiveness and love for Chloe were written into every line of his body. What would it be like to have someone care about her like that? To want to look after her?
And Chloe had four men.
Lucky bitch.
As she left Beck and wandered upstairs, she tried to convince herself that Chloe’s life couldn’t be all that great. Men weren’t all they were cracked up to be. All that testosterone had to be stifling. Plus, imagine the laundry and dirty dishes. And the farting.
Yikes.
But as much as Maggie tried to tell herself that it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, she couldn’t help but go over Beck’s words in her head.
More than one man meant she’d never have to be alone again.
A sad sigh escaped her. She was so tired of being lonely. Of feeling like no one was on her side.
Instead of moving into her bedroom, she headed up to the rooftop deck where the pool was. She stared out over the vast expanse of desert to her left and houses to her right. In the distance, the ocean glinted.
She knew she was being silly. She had no right to feel sorry for herself.