Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah. Griffin doesn’t want that to happen to him, where he works his ass off and saves all his life, and then his body gives out before he can slow down. But land around here isn’t cheap, and banks can be assholes. He’s struggled to get business loans in the past, and a lot of property goes to developers.”
“So you’re going to help him out?” I asked, rolling to my side. “Give him a deal?”
“Yes. He’s like a brother to me. And it’s not as if I need all this property. I like the idea of Griffin and Blair building a place here, having a bunch of little Dempsey monsters running around just like we used to.”
I smiled. “I think it’s a great idea. Have you told him yet?”
“No. It’s been in the back of my mind for a while, but I haven’t said anything. I’ll probably wait until after Cole’s wedding.” He rolled onto his back and tucked his hands beneath his head, closing his eyes to the sun. “It’s hard to believe all three of my best friends will be married soon.”
“Is it weird for you?”
“Nah. Whatever makes them happy.”
I scooted a little closer to him and put my head on his chest. His skin was warm and dry. “You deserve to be happy too, you know.”
He chuckled. “I am.”
“You are?”
“Yes. It doesn’t look the same for everybody.”
I sighed. “You’re right. God knows I’ve never been as unhappy as I was when I was married.”
“Marriage is tough,” he said. “I mean, I hope it works out for my friends and my sisters, but it’s a lot to ask of someone, you know?”
“What is?”
He didn’t answer right away. “To stay forever.”
Immediately I thought of what he’d said the other night—that no one stayed until the end. “You don’t think it’s possible to love someone forever?” I asked, drawing small circles on his chest with one fingertip.
He thought for a few seconds. “I think maybe it’s possible, for some people, but I think it’s too much to expect. It’s all so unpredictable. You never know what the future will bring. And I think it’s a mistake to make promises you’re not sure you can keep.”
“Or promises you know you can’t keep,” I added, thinking of my ex.
“Exactly. Although there is one promise I want to make to you.”
I picked my head up and looked at him. “What’s that?”
“The next time we’re alone, I promise to take my time. For fuck’s sake, there are so many things I want to do to you, and I keep going off like a rocket.”
“I feel like that’s partly my fault,” I said, laughing a little.
“Me too.” He growled menacingly, then flipped me over so I was on my back and he was above me. “All those things you say to rush me, and the way you use your hands—next time I kidnap you, I might have to tie you down.” He wound my hair around his fist, pulling gently. “I’m good with a rope, you know.”
My stomach tightened. “I bet you are, cowboy.”
He lowered his lips to mine and kissed me hungrily. When I slid my palm down his abs and rubbed his thickening cock, he groaned. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Making me want things I can’t have. We have to get going.”
I smiled. “You’re right. We’ve been gone longer than we said. Your sister is probably wondering what happened to us.”
“She probably guessed what happened to us,” he said, letting go of my hair and getting to his feet. He reached down to help me up. “My sisters have been ruthless, teasing me about you.”
I let him pull me to my feet and tried to fasten my bra, which still hung on my shoulders. “They have? Why?”
“Here. Let me.” He turned me around and hooked it for me. “Because they claim they saw the way I looked at you back in high school.”
I laughed, grabbing my shorts from the dock and stepping into them. “Awww. You were a perfect gentleman back then.”
“You didn’t know what I was thinking,” he said, pulling on his jeans.
“That’s probably a good thing.” I reached for my tank and tugged it over my head. “In my mind, you were always a safe place.”
“I still want to be that for you.”
He sounded so serious, I turned to face him. “You are, Beckett.”
“I mean it.” He reached out and pulled me against his warm, bare chest. “Even though we can’t have the kind of future my friends have, I’ll always be your safe place. That’s a promise I can keep.”
Pressing my cheek against his skin, I looped my arms around his taut waist. “Thank you.”
We stood that way for a moment, embracing in the late afternoon sun, and even though I knew better, I sort of wished it could last forever.