Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“He didn’t hit you, did he?”
“No.” Rich laughs loudly, but it sounds too pitchy to be real. “If the guy had hit me, he would’ve spent the night in a cell here and would’ve been on his way to a court hearing first thing this morning.”
Well, actually, you’d probably still be unconscious right now if he had hit you.
But, of course, I don’t say that.
Even still, I am relieved. The last thing I want is Zeus getting arrested for hitting a police officer. And, of course, I don’t want Rich getting hit by a guy who could bench-press him using just one arm.
“Did he…threaten you?” I ask, half-closing my eyes as I wait for the answer.
“No…the guy’s not stupid. He’s not going to threaten a police officer.”
“So, what exactly did he say?”
“Well…he said…”
“You told Rich that he was standing in the way of my happiness?” I yell the second Zeus opens his front door.
“Hello to you, too, Cam.”
“Don’t be smart right now. I’m not in the mood.”
“Clearly.”
“I’m so fucking mad at you.”
“I’m getting that.” He widens the door, standing aside. “Would you like to come in and be mad at me or stay out there while you yell at me?”
“You’re an asshole.” I narrow my eyes and stomp past him, stopping just inside.
He closes the door. “Where’s Gigi?” he asks.
I give him a less than amused look. “With Aunt Elle. What the hell did you think you were doing, turning up at Rich’s house like that?”
“Fighting for my family. Fighting for you.”
Well, hell.
“I just didn’t expect him to go crying to you.”
“He didn’t come crying to me. I had to force it out of him.”
“You can do better than that guy, Dove. He’s got no backbone.”
“Better like you, you mean?”
“Well, if you’re asking…”
“Been there before. Didn’t work out so well for me the last time. And, for your information, I’m not even seeing Rich anymore. I haven’t been since you came back. He’s just a friend.”
“Sure he is, Cam. So, you accidentally bumped into each other yesterday and decided to go for coffee?”
“Yes! You big jerk! And, if you’d bothered to stay and talk to me last night, then you would have heard me telling you that I’d popped out of work to grab a coffee and bumped into Rich coming out of the station after his shift. We talked briefly. I said I had to go grab my coffee. He said he wanted one—”
“I bet he did.”
I glare at him. “He said he wanted coffee, too. So, we walked the few minutes to the coffee shop where I bumped into you and Gigi.”
“And that was it?”
“Yes, that was it. We got our coffees. I went back to work, and he went wherever he went—home presumably.”
He’s staring at me like he’s trying to read my thoughts. Then, he sighs and scrubs his hands over his face.
“Just seeing you with him after the other night…it blindsided me. It fucking hurt, Dove.”
“Zeus…the other night…it was a mistake.”
“No, the only mistake I ever made was walking away from you.”
“I told you to go.”
“I’m not talking about the other night.”
His eyes bore into mine. His stare is so intense, I can barely handle it.
I look away. “You can’t behave like this, Zeus. Going to Rich’s, testosterone-filled and pissing on me like you own me.”
“You are mine.”
Well, if that doesn’t just set me off again.
“I’m not yours.” I grit my teeth.
“You’ve been mine since the moment I saw you. That’s never going to change.”
“God! You’re unbelievable.” I throw my hands up in the air. “You think the alpha-caveman act is going to work? Well, I’m telling you, it’s not!”
“You said you wanted me to fight for you, Cam. Well, this is me fighting in the only way I know how.” He spreads his arms out wide.
“Yeah, well, this isn’t the way.”
“So, tell me what the way is, and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to make this work.”
“I don’t know.” I look to the ground. “All I do know is that I don’t trust you with my feelings.”
“I won’t hurt you again,” he whispers.
“You once told me that you would never hurt me. So, saying you won’t hurt me again carries no weight at all.”
“I’m not leaving, Cam.”
“You said that before as well. And then I didn’t see you for five years.”
He drags his hand over his hair, letting out a sound of frustration. “I explained that. I told you that I was trying to do what I thought was the right thing at the time. But I got it wrong, and it cost me you and four years of my daughter’s life. I’ve paid the price, Cam. But I’m here now. I want to be with you. I want us to be a family.”
“You want me because of Gigi.”
“Is that really what you think?”
I hold his stare. “I think you love our daughter and that you’re telling yourself that you still love me because you so desperately want to get back the time you lost with her.”