Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
He groaned, resting his forehead against mine. “You’ve trapped me.”
“I know.”
“If I don’t go to LA, I lose you. But if I do go, I’m no longer the person you fell in love with.”
I tried to smile, lifting a shoulder. “I would’ve made a great lawyer, huh?”
He didn’t speak for a few minutes. The bitter stench of goodbye assaulted my nostrils. As if he could understand our conversation, Trio whined, nuzzling my ankle with his wet snout. Geezer joined in, attacking my toes with his paws.
Our babies. They, too, wanted me to stay.
I pulled at the loose fibers on my sweater, hoping for a distraction from the three sets of puppy dog eyes aimed at me.
Don’t fight this, Ol.
I’m not strong enough to resist.
For once, give me a beautiful goodbye.
Finally, finally, Oliver broke the silence. “Do you have a place to stay at in Los Angeles?”
I sagged against him, realizing his underlying meaning. “I can sleep on Hazel’s couch until I find one.”
“The Grand Regent in Beverly Hills has luxury condos for long-term tenants.”
I rose from his lap, putting some distance between us now that there was no us. “I’m not accepting your charity, Oliver.”
“I broke your old lease and sold your car. It’s not charity. It’s compensation.”
I considered it, hopping onto the edge of the breakfast table. “Okay. But only for as long as it takes to find a new place. And I’ll pay rent.”
“I’ll draw up a lease.”
This was adult-like. Mature. The closure I wished I’d gotten fifteen years ago. We could do this. Go our separate ways. Maybe in a few years, when the dust settled and I could look at him without wanting to weep, we might even be friends again.
You’ll survive, I tried to convince myself. You’ll look back on this moment one day and thank yourself for putting yourself first.
“It feels like the sky is falling,” I confessed.
“You’re strong enough to hold it up,” he told me, his words proud but his eyes sad.
“Thank you.”
For teaching me how to fly.
For helping me regain my wings.
For letting me go.
He rested his chin on my knee, peering up at me from his seat. “You’ll be okay, won’t you?”
“We both will,” I assured him. And because I couldn’t help myself, I traced a fingertip down the bridge of his nose. “You gave me wings, my dark tragic prince.”
Before I could second guess myself, I slid off the table and headed for the stairs to pack my things. I paused at the base of the stairs, turning to face him. His eyes hadn’t budged from me.
Oliver stared back at me but didn’t speak. A wave of confessions found their way to the tip of my tongue.
I love you.
I will always love you.
I will only ever love you.
Instead, I settled for a simple, “Oliver?”
“Cuddlebug.”
I strode back to him, slid off the engagement ring, and pressed it into his palm, curling his fingers around it. “You will make an amazing husband one day.”
Just not mine.
He shot up from his seat, startling me. “Bullshit.”
I backed away as he stalked to me, step by deliberate step. “Excuse me?”
Another step.
And another.
My back hit the wall. Oliver planted a hand on each side of my face, caging me in. Our heavy breaths tangled together, his eyes dark and unrelenting.
He dipped his head, bringing his lips to the shell of my ear. “If I don’t marry you – and that’s a big fucking if – I’ll make the worst husband in the entire world. Because I’ll spend every second of every minute thinking about you. When I make her laugh, it’s your giggles I’ll hear. When I kiss her, it’s your lips I’ll feel. And when I slide deep inside her, it’s your pussy I’ll imagine, dripping wet around my cock. You’ve ruined me, Briar. Completely and utterly destroyed me for every other woman on this planet. It’s you or nothing.”
Chapter Ninety
Briar
Briar Auer: The engagement is off.
Briar Auer: Well, it was never really on in the first place.
Dallas Costa: Are you sure?? I now owe Farrow $100k.
Briar Auer: You bet against us?!
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: *Temporarily against you.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: She said you’d move back to LA, Oliver would chase after you, and you’d return from Nauru knocked up. My bet was an airport scene, but that, essentially, you’d stay here.
Briar Auer: You are terrible friends.
Dallas Costa: I flew you to Texas when you were a perfect stranger!
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: I LEFT THE HOUSE FOR YOU. SEVERAL TIMES.
Briar Auer: I’ll be sure to mention that in our wedding speech.
Dallas Costa: Is it my turn with amnesia or did you not just say the engagement is off?
Briar Auer: It’s a temporary thing.
Farrow Ballantine-Sun: Meaning?
Briar Auer: Meaning I tried to break up with him, he refused, then he kissed me so thoroughly I couldn’t help but agree to a long-distance relationship again on a trial basis.