Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
I’m the first one off once we reach the dock and am halfway up the hill to the house when I hear my mother call out to me.
“Katherine? Can I speak to you, please?” I wish she wouldn’t even bother asking. I really have no choice in the matter. I can’t even imagine how mad she would get if I said no and went up to my bedroom.
“What is it, Mom?” I ask, glancing at the setting sun. Christian and I have plans for tonight, and I do not want to miss them after today’s surprise nightmare.
“Sweetie, you know that mothers know their daughters, right? We know them.”
“Uh, okay?”
“I saw how you were looking at that young man on the boat today.” Oh God. “And I just wanted to remind you that—”
“Yeah, you want me to marry Malcom. I know, Mom.”
I just want to get out of this conversation, whatever it takes.
“Malcom is a nice young man.” She smiles. “And even if we hadn’t found him for you, that one today…he’s not…one of us. You understand what I mean?”
There it is again. That toxic arrogance displayed by Malcom earlier that my mother seems fully capable of as well. I can feel it sinking into my pores the longer I stand here, literally giving me the shivers and making me want to go dive into the lake to rinse it off me.
I open my mouth, ready to say something back, but then quickly realize how futile it would be. I’m not changing any of these people—at least not with some snide remark or by trying to win an argument.
So instead, I purse my lips and nod.
“Okay, Mom,” I say.
This seems to please her as she pats me on the shoulder like a proud owner might do to their dog who just learned a new trick and gently turns me toward the house. We walk up together, my eyes on the ground as I place one foot in front of the other, my thoughts fixed on tonight when I can escape all this and find refuge in the arms of the man I now know I am absolutely falling for.
Christian.
4
Christian
I thought I’d spend the day away from her, longing for her while I worked on my most recent painting, thinking about last night and how incredible it was. Yearning for tonight and a repeat of the magic we created together.
Boy, was I wrong.
When I got my new orders saying that I was supposed to be taking a family out on the boat instead of doing the repairs and maintenance I was scheduled to be performing today, I was actually relieved.
A nice day cruising out on the lake enjoying the sun and the weather instead of wearing out my hands and my knees like every other day? Sounds good to me.
And then I saw just who it was I was taking out. I went right up to the office and volunteered to swap with Chris and take on his duties cleaning the storage sheds—anything to keep from having to get stuck in that situation. But boss wasn’t having it.
Normally, I’m able to do my work and stay out of the way of the richies. Sure, I catch them looking down their noses at me, but it’s from a distance. This time, I had to watch Kate’s parents do it from a couple of yards away.
Not to mention that the man they’d picked out for her was there too. I nearly dug holes into my palms clenching my fists while I watched him going over to her time and time again trying to talk to her. Persistent bastard, I’ll give him that.
I wanted to go down there to the deck and get right up in his face and tell him that Kate was mine. Mine and he’d better back off. But all that would have done is cause more problems for the both of us, and we’ve got enough of those already.
I strip off the silly Polo I was forced to wear for today’s activities and toss it in the hamper, then grab myself a beer from the fridge and pop the top on the counter.
At least Kate’s coming over tonight. I have a feeling that with her sense of humor, we’ll both be able to share a laugh about the absurdity of the situation.
Just as I’m about to sit down on the couch to relax and wait for her to arrive, there’s a knock on the door. I grin. Okay, so the day was a nightmare, but Kate managed to slip out early to come see me. I guess that makes up for it.
“Well, hello there, beautiful—” I say as I open the door, but instantly cut myself off when I see it’s not Kate standing there like I was hoping. Oh, no. In fact, this day just got ten times worse.