Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
“Thanks for letting me know, Mr. Rolland,” I told him softly. I leaned forward and hugged him. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me the past two years.” He had no idea how much he’d helped me.
He returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Hun. Take care of yourself, yeah?”
I nodded. “I will. You, too, Mr. Rolland.”
I stepped back into the apartment and shut the door behind me. I looked up at Jessie as he moved toward me, his eyes narrowed. My body sagged against the door. My shoulders sagged. “I need to come back to Farley,” I told Jessie quietly. I handed him the paper. “The bank is foreclosing.”
I was right back at square one as if I hadn’t just busted my ass for the past two years so I would never have to return.
Jessie set the paper aside and drew me into his arms. I wrapped my own arms around his naked torso and closed my eyes, inhaling his cologne. “We’ll get some boxes, and I’ll get Lincoln to come up here with the truck to help us move your stuff,” he told me quietly.
I drew in a deep breath, the pain in my ribs grounding me. “I hate that I have to come back,” I whispered.
Jessie pressed his lips to my hair. “I know, baby girl, but remember that you’re not alone. I’ve always and will always stand in your corner, baby.”
12
West
I looked up from my phone when Jessie let Lincoln into the apartment. Lincoln looked over at me. “Decided to come home after all?” he asked me.
I shook my head as my eyes flickered to the paper on the countertop. “My landlord is losing this place to the bank,” I informed him. “I don’t really have any other choice. This place was all that I could afford.” I stood up from the small loveseat. “Did you happen to bring boxes?” I asked Lincoln.
He gripped my shoulders and crouched so his eyes were level with mine. I swallowed nervously when his gorgeous, blue eyes locked on my green ones. “Just sit down. Jessie and I can handle packing everything, West.”
“Especially after the shit that happened last night,” Jessie spoke up as he rested his hands on my hips from behind me. My breath hitched in my throat. I was sandwiched between two very hot, very muscular men—both of which I had feelings for. “You need to sit down and continue resting.”
I frowned. “Jessie—”
He pressed his lips to my temple, and Lincoln slowly released me. My body shuddered as his hands slowly slid from my shoulders. “Don’t argue with me, baby,” Jessie softly warned me. “Go sit back down.”
I huffed, hating being told what to do. Lincoln smirked at me. “Still hate being told what to do, huh?” he asked as I plopped onto the couch, wincing afterward when pain flared up in my ribs.
I only glared at him in response. He laughed softly before he turned on his heel and walked back outside. Jessie pointed a finger at me. “Stay seated,” he ordered before he spun around and followed Lincoln down the stairs.
I glowered at the closed apartment door.
Fucking men.
Jessie
“Everyone in fucking town hates her,” Lincoln stated as soon as we were down by the truck.
My eyes flickered up to the apartment. “I know,” I grunted. “But there’s not really any other option for her. She’ll never let me pay for an apartment here for her. She’s too stubborn and independent for that.”
“Is she going to be staying with you?” Lincoln asked me as he opened the back door to the truck.
I shrugged. “I’d like her to,” I told him. “But knowing her, she’ll probably stay at her mom’s place.”
Lincoln sat down in the back, letting his legs dangle over the side. “Fuck, man, she’s changed so fucking much,” Lincoln said quietly, shaking his head. “I know she’s your woman now and all, but fuck, bro, seeing her again cuts me deep. I’ve never stopped caring about her; those feelings for her have never gone away.”
I clenched my jaw, reining in my possessive, jealous streak. I hadn’t missed the way West had reacted to Lincoln, hadn’t missed the way her eyes had softened when he’d grabbed her shoulders.
He affected her just as much as I did. I knew I would always be her rock, would always be the one she would rely on the most. That would never fucking change.
But I couldn’t ignore the fact that she had feelings for Lincoln, too.
Would I ever let her go? Fuck no. But if she really wanted to be with Lincoln, I would be willing to share her.
But I would always be her number one. Hell, I was secure in that knowledge. West and I had something that was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.
“She still has feelings for you, too, Lincoln,” I told him gruffly. He arched a brow at me. “I noticed it when you grabbed her shoulders.”