Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
He lifted his gaze and looked at me. “I guess I’m sad…because I’m not going to be the only man in your life anymore.”
I sat at my desk in my office when my assistant spoke through the intercom. “Dr. Hamilton, someone is here to see you.”
I finished my train of thought, scribbled down my note, before I pressed my finger to the button. “Is this a new patient that I forgot about…?” As smart as I was, I forgot things really easily.
“No. He said his name is Mason?”
What. The. Fuck. “Mason what?” It had to be a coincidence, right?
“Uh, he didn’t say…”
“Is he tall, blond, and handsome?”
He must have been standing right there because all she said was, “Uh-huh.”
What the hell was he doing at the clinic? He’d never visited me here before. “I guess send him in.”
A moment later, he appeared in the glass, in denim jeans that sat low on his hips, a t-shirt that squeezed his biceps, triceps, all the ceps. With blue eyes and a jawline as sharp as a shattered piece of glass, he was as beautiful as I remember. And just as arrogant too, judging from the way he gave me a smirk.
I got to my feet and moved around the desk. “What are you doing here?”
He came closer, his hands sliding into his pockets. “I hope you don’t mind—”
“I do mind.” I raised my hand, motioning for him not to come any closer. “This is my office. I’m working.”
“I thought about stopping by your place, but I thought that would be inappropriate.”
“Because it would. Just as inappropriate as this is. What the hell is this about? You only want me because you can’t have me? Because I was wrapped around your goddamn finger like a fucking moron, and you didn’t seem to give a shit then.” I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I was pissed off. My man, the guy I was about to move in with, was on the other side of the lobby.
“Daisy, let’s just take a breath and calm down—”
“Ooh, that is not something you want to say to me. I’m not the kind of bitch that calms down. Ever.”
He remained calm and cool, as always. “I just want to talk to you. Can I talk?”
My arms crossed over my chest. “I told you I’m in a relationship—”
“Can I talk?” he repeated.
My eyes narrowed to slits. “Fine. What?”
“I heard what you said before, at the tournament. Loud and clear.”
“Not loud enough, apparently.”
“But I didn’t really get a chance to say anything because you shut me down pretty harshly.”
“Harshly?” I asked incredulously. “Dumping me when I’m standing outside the restaurant where my family is waiting to meet you is pretty harsh. You fucking humiliated me. Humiliated me.”
He had the humility to drop his gaze, to abandon his confidence for a moment. “I still feel like shit about that—”
“You should always feel like shit about that.”
“Well, your dad made me feel a little less bad about it…”
There wasn’t an ounce of compassion from me, and I didn’t apologize for my father’s actions. It was wrong, but I didn’t care. Wouldn’t say a damn thing about it.
He stared me down, as if expecting me to acknowledge some remorse, but he realized it wasn’t coming. “Daisy, I wasn’t ready to settle down. I didn’t expect our relationship to take off the way it did. It totally turned my world upside down. I was weak and chickened out because committing to just one woman for the rest of my life was something I just wasn’t ready for. Marriage? Kids? Not in that headspace at all.”
“I didn’t ask you to marry me, Mason. I didn’t mention kids at all.”
“But meeting your parents…that was the start of it.”
“Look, asshole. If you didn’t want to be in a relationship, you shouldn’t have been in one. I was fine being casual, but you’re the one who wanted more…and more.”
He dropped his gaze again.
“If you weren’t willing to even try, you shouldn’t have wasted my time.”
He continued to look away.
“But it doesn’t matter now because I’m with a man who’s not wasting my time.”
The mention of him made Mason look back at me. “This time apart has made me realize that I made a mistake. I left because I wasn’t ready, but going back to my old lifestyle of complete freedom didn’t feel the same way anymore. The girls are just girls…they aren’t you. I know I fucked up, I know I did a lot of stupid shit, but…I’m ready to try again.”
“Oh, you’re ready?” I asked, my hands moving to my hips. “Oh good. I’m so happy that you’re ready to be what I deserve. Let me just dump my boyfriend real quick so we can get this party started.”
He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I know how you feel about me. I know what we had. And I just had—”