Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 83070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Yeah, that was a great day.”
She giggles. “But back to this. What happened when you got inside?”
I pace slowly around the room as it all comes back to me.
“We sort of had a little argument, I think,” I say, wrinkling my forehead in thought. “And then I basically propositioned him.”
She falls back dramatically into the cushions. “You are my hero.”
“Don’t get too excited because it didn’t happen. But I did straddle him, I think.”
“So did he just turn you down? Because I can’t imagine that happening. Especially if you were wearing that and grinding against him. The man isn’t dead.”
I remember how hard his cock was as I slid back and forth over it. Damn.
“He said I had been drinking, so he couldn’t do it.” I roll my eyes. “Of all the nights the asshole decides to be a gentleman, he chose last night.”
Courtney grins. “You know, that’s hot, too. Like I know you would’ve loved getting nailed by him, but it’s kind of sexy that he refrained.”
He refrained.
Her words echo through my head. He refrained. He said no. He rejected me, even when I begged.
My face heats. How am I going to face him again? I’m not sorry about how I acted because I would’ve said it sober. Heck, I practically said the same thing in the maintenance room. But I can’t recall every minutia of last night, and he can.
And he refrained.
Courtney leans forward and opens the top of the Tapo’s box that I forgot was there.
“This looks amazing,” she says.
I stare at the dish and slowly melt.
“Two potato and egg fritters with smoked salmon, please. Double crème fraiche.”
“What did you do? Order delivery?” she asks.
“I just woke up when you got here.”
She looks at me, her perfectly manicured brows pulling together. “What does he drive? A Mercedes? Completely blacked out?”
I nod.
“I passed him leaving your neighborhood as I was coming in,” she says, grinning.
“Do you think he came back this morning?”
“That or he stayed last night.”
I look around the room. “Surely, he didn’t. Why would he …?”
My attention lands on the loveseat by the fireplace. A blanket is folded on the armrest, but not the way I do it. And the cushions are slightly askew as if someone had lain on them recently.
He did stay here. At least for a while. Did he stay all night and order breakfast to be delivered? Or did he bring it back for me this morning?
The heat from my cheeks flows down my neck and into my chest.
Either way, it’s sweet as hell.
“This is why you need a doorbell camera like the rest of the world,” she says. “I’m getting you one for Christmas. This is ridiculous.”
I grab my matcha and try to still the butterflies in my stomach.
“I need to take a bath so I can think,” I say. “You’re welcome to hang out and talk to me, or you can go. Either way, thanks for the coffee.”
She narrows her eyes. “I’ll hang out with you because I want any details you missed. And then I’ll drive you to my house to get the Gremlin.”
“You’re the best.”
“Better than Tate?”
I laugh as she stands and follows me up the stairs.
Gannon
“Hey, B,” I say as soon as Bianca answers the phone. “I didn’t know if you’d pick up.”
“I’m not sure if I’m not sleeping because I’m too happy or too exhausted.”
I grin as I stare out the kitchen window. “Tell yourself it’s the first.”
“Right? But it’s probably that anyway. I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy.”
It took two solid hours in the gym for my body to finally give up and wear out enough for me to settle. It might not be from happiness like my sister, but it’s adrenaline all the same. Bianca has her happy ending. I got a taste of what happiness could feel like with Carys on my lap, and that will have to be enough for me.
Sleep wasn’t possible on Carys’s loveseat. Even if I could get comfortable, I wouldn’t have been able to ignore her lying just a few feet away from me. She snored softly, her lips pressed in a perfect pout. Just being in the room with her, in her house, was something I never imagined would actually happen. It felt like I was exactly where I should have been—in her space, taking care of her. I also never imagined that I’d be in that position and not feel uncomfortable or awkward. Or unwanted.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, turning away from the window. “Is Foxx taking good care of you?”
“He’s about to drive me crazy.” She laughs. “He’s a helicopter husband at this stage.”
I chuckle. “Better that than the alternative.”
“He’s been amazing, both with me and our daughter.”
“I’m glad. I’m happy for you, Bianca.”
“Thanks, Gannon.” She sighs. “You hear all these stories about how having a baby changes your life, and I always thought it was silly. How could having a baby change you in a moment? But it’s true. All of it. Even though I love Foxx with everything in me, having this little piece of both of us … our love created a life. It changed the makeup of the world. Isn’t that amazing?”