Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“This life I put everything on hold for was over, and I blamed her for years. Maybe it wasn’t all her fault, but the fact is, she left. She ran away from me and her son. And I don’t think I ever got over it.”
“I’m sorry.” I put my other hand over his and squeeze. “That must’ve been so hard. But I… I don’t understand. Is that why we’re here? So you could tell me about Rina?” And the fact that he’s not over her haunting him.
That stings more than it should.
“Not Rina. Not specifically.” He makes an impatient gesture with his free hand. “I brought you here because everything that’s happened lately peeled my blinders off. Having you around showed me how much I’ve let Rina fuck me up, Winnie. I let her put chains on my life without even being here, and I’m done with all that.”
“Done?” I swallow.
“Yeah. Done with letting the past have any power over me, Winnie.” He touches my face, tracing where the tears traveled half an hour before. “I’m done with dancing around the damn elephant in the room. I’d rather be trampled than keep pretending I don’t want to be with you for real.”
My laugh comes out startled and definitely snotty. “You mean… Are you being serious right now?”
“I am.”
“You want to be with me? For real?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, woman?” He tugs me closer and our lips graze. “I want that fuckhead out of your life. Permanently,” he growls. “I also want to make you forget he ever existed.”
Holy hell.
This might be it.
The moment for me to say it, to gush love all over him like the crazy idiot I am, but I just wrap my arms around him and kiss him like my life will end if I don’t.
Right now, it might.
He kisses me back just as fiercely, and in the middle of the forest, with just Archer, it feels right.
Like this is meant to be.
Not just a distraction, but destiny.
Archer Rory tastes like home, my very own nest of honey-sweet words and ferocious muscle, and the realization doesn’t scare me.
If he’s not afraid to be with me, how can I be scared to love him with my whole heart?
20
BEE OPEN (ARCHER)
I’m no optimist.
I’m sure everyone I know would consider me a blackhearted certified pessimist from the day I was born, but lately, there’s no denying the truth.
Things have been going remarkably smoothly ever since I spilled my guts to Winnie.
I told her the hard truth, almost everything, all the reasons why I walled myself off. And now, things are—well, they’re damn good.
Like all I needed to do was break down the last unspoken barriers between us.
She wasn’t expecting me to go there.
To talk about Rina, to cough up the past and the ugly way I feel about life.
If she were anyone else, it never would’ve happened.
But holding that broken girl in my arms with her wrecked hives must’ve rewired my brain, or at least woken me the fuck up.
Now, it’s undeniable.
There’s something about Winnie that’s worth lowering my shields.
The weirdest part is I’m not scared shitless. I have no regrets.
There’s only one last nagging talk I dread, but it feels almost manageable.
I’ve chosen a small café away from anyone connected to us. I want privacy for this.
No Junie eavesdropping over my shoulder—however well meaning—and no memories of anywhere we used to visit back when we were young and stupid.
Nothing but the present.
Just two people, who we are now, Rina and me.
It’s high time we sorted our shit out for good and leveled with the truth, assuming she’s as determined as she seems to be in Colt’s life.
So I choose a small independent place on the other side of the city with clean round tables and a small pastry case that might’ve looked impressive a few years ago. After Junie and The Sugar Bowl, it’s hard to get excited over anyone else’s sweets.
I’m nursing a cup of hot dark roast when Rina walks through the door, her shoulders tight and her brown eyes wary. I know that look.
I lift a hand, gesturing. She comes over to join me after a pause.
“Hey,” she says cautiously, taking the chair across from me.
I nod at the menu.
“You want a drink?”
“Oh, yeah. Just an iced vanilla latte, extra espresso.”
I smile as I get up because it’s the same drink she’d always order. Some things never change. But others do, and there’s that nervous hand around my throat again, stalling my words.
Fuck, I need to do this as soon as her coffee comes.
The barista is a slim girl with glasses too large for her face and an apron tied tightly around her waist. I put in the order and she makes idle small talk as she gets it going.
With Rina’s latte and a fresh refill of black coffee for me, I head back to the table.