Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“I can—“ I started.
“Nope,” Rynn cut me off. “He won’t let you. Might as well settle in, Jade. He’s all about the pamper.”
“She’s not wrong,” Teddy agreed, reaching to remove his hat.
“An ice pop would be great. I can eat it in the kitchen, though,” I said, moving to stand.
“No, stay,” Teddy insisted. “Rest.”
“How is he single?” I whispered to Rynn when Teddy was out of earshot.
“I know, right?” she asked. “One of life’s many mysteries.”
Teddy was back just two minutes later, bringing not only an ice pop in a fine china bowl, but two thick white paper bags with their names scrawled on the fronts.
He dropped one besides Rynn before handing me my ice pop and placing the bag beside me.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Goodies,” Rynn explained, pulling out a pair of fuzzy socks with a skull pattern on them. “How’d you get skulls this time of year?” she asked, beaming at Teddy.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I insisted after taking a small bite of the ice pop.
Despite my objection, I reached for the bag. Inside, I found socks featuring paint splatters, a face mask, a bath bomb, a weighted sleep mask, silk pajamas, and a tub of face cream.
“This shit is six-hundred dollars a tub,” Rynn whispered, mouth falling open.
“No way,” I said, untwisting the top. “I didn’t know face cream that expensive existed.”
“Right? But Teddy is in a different tax bracket than we are. Right, Teddy?” she called.
“I’m afraid to agree,” Teddy said, making Rynn smile.
“I was just saying you’re stupid rich.”
“I’m… comfortable.”
“That’s what the super-rich say,” Rynn said, making me let out a little laugh.
The evening went on much the same way, with me trying ice pops, tea, and, finally, the throat spray for some relief.
The condo was the lap of luxury.
Teddy was the most gracious of hosts.
And Rynn was surprisingly good company.
But I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to Levee, wondering if he was okay, if he might get himself into some sort of trouble because of me, if he was going to come and get me before the night was through.
Eventually, though, once the conversation died down and the movie I’d seen many times before started to play, the adrenaline crash left me too tired to even try to hold my heavy lids open any longer.
I woke up to whisper-soft fingers teasing over my forehead, making me swat at the intrusion. Until I heard a soft chuckle.
“Whoa, it’s alright,” Levee said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pushing me back down when I tried to shoot up. “Just me,” he said, voice low.
He put a finger to his lips, then pointed to the side. And then there was Cato, leaning down to lift Rynn into his arms.
She woke immediately, though, pointing toward her bag on the coffee table. “If you leave that face cream here, I’m leaving you,” she told him.
To that, Cato smiled, but leaned down to grab the bag with his pinkie finger before carrying the very much awake Rynn out the door.
“Where’s Teddy?” I asked, not wanting to leave without thanking him for everything.
“Right here,” Teddy said as I sat up, making me search to find him standing in the kitchen holding a small plastic cooler. “I was just packing up your ice pops.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, even if the pain in my throat had a different tale to tell. I gave him a grateful smile, though, knowing he would insist I take them. “Thank you so much for every—“
“Sweetheart,” Teddy cut her off, holding up a hand. “Save your voice. I can hear how much it’s hurting to talk.”
I did manage to give him a quiet thank-you before following Levee into the elevator.
“Scale of one-to-ten, how disappointed are you not to spend the night in one of Teddy’s luxe-ass guest rooms?”
“Okay. Maybe a five,” I admitted, reaching to open the lid of the cooler Levee was holding, suddenly needing another ice pop to numb my throat. It was right then that I finally noticed Levee’s hands. “Your knuckles.”
Levee waited for my gaze to lift to his.
“You’re not gonna have to worry about getting hurt again,” he said.
I wanted to say I felt torn about that. Because, as a whole, I’d been a pacifist my whole life. In my mind, there was always a solution to a problem that didn’t involve violence.
That said, my throat felt like I was gargling glass each time I swallowed. And I knew down to my bones that, if not for William coming to my rescue, I wouldn’t be able to standing there with Levee again.
“Does that bother you?” Levee asked, reading my mind.
“It should,” I said.
“But?”
“But… I don’t know. I think maybe in this case, it’s karmic.”
“There you go,” he said, giving me that boyish smile I was starting to love so much. “Now, do you want cherry-limeade, or blackberry lemonade? Just so you know, there is a right answer.”