Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
The woman with my twin babies in her belly ran. Again.
I want to chase her and tie her to the bed. Again.
I’ll make sure she enjoys it.
Truth is, I feel more and more like a caveman every day I go without seeing her face.
This sh#t’s instinctual.
She’s carrying my babies. So I want her in my cave.
I want to go hunt sh#t, kill it, and wrap her in my furs.
I’m trying to be a better man, though. To like… listen and s#it. Do things the right way.
Not sure it’s in my nature.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to bring my woman home.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
HOPE
“So you just left?” Makayla, my once client and current best friend in all the world stared at me open mouthed as she stuck her hands out again towards my stomach. We were standing in the foyer of her expensive hotel suite in Milan. She paused a hand-span away and lifted her eyebrows, asking permission.
I sighed and laughed tiredly, grabbing her hands and putting them on my belly. “Yes. I just left. Well, first I ditched my phone. After everything I learned about the guys, I wouldn’t put it past one of those bastards to have put a tracking app on it.” Even thinking about Leander, Janus, and Milo, even in the context of their obsessive, stalker ways, made my heart squeeze in pain. I tried to push them from my mind as I smiled at Makayla. “It did make for a boring train ride over here, though. Can I finally come all the way inside now?”
“Sure, but,” she frowned, her palms still pressed against my tummy, “I was hoping I’d feel something. When my cousin was pregnant I could feel the baby moving. Like a little alien inside her.”
I hugged her while she kept palming my stomach, searching for my alien. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you.”
When I finally pulled away, I sighed and dropped my bag to the floor. “Tell me you have… shit, I was about to say vodka.” I put the palms of my hands to my tired eyes. They felt like they’d been pummeled. “It is criminal not to allow pregnant women alcohol or caffeine!”
“I still can’t believe you’re gonna pop out twins.” Makayla hadn’t stopped staring fixedly down at my stomach ever since she’d opened the door.
“Yeah, yeah.” I reached down into my bag and pulled out some acetaminophen. I carried it everywhere with me these days for my aches and pains.
It was just my normal bag, but I always packed it like I was Mary Poppins. I could pull out anything on a moment’s notice. It had started feeling like it was filled with bricks about eight blocks ago.
Fucking Italy with its culture of walking everywhere. They clearly had not had pregnant women in mind when designing this damn place. I mean, yes to the food but Jesus, I needed one of those sexy little scooters I saw some people zipping around in if we stayed much longer.
And I guess that was the question, wasn’t it? Was I staying? … or going for good?
“Will you let me in the actual suite already?” I laughed tiredly, pushing past Makayla.
She’d texted me last week that she’d be here in Milan for a fashion show. At the time I said I hoped I’d be able to get out to see her. Serendipitous timing. Especially since I hadn’t even mentioned it yet to any of the guys. I kept meaning to but it slipped my mind.
And now she was my refuge.
“Aww, yeah. Come in, mama. Tell me all about it. I’ve got gelato.”
And just like that, I started bawling and telling her the whole tale as she led me to the couch and immediately came back with gelato, just as promised. Chocolate. My favorite.
“That horrid cow,” she said when I got to the part about Lena.
I nodded, wiping at my messy tears with the sleeve of my shirt. “I know, right? Can we put her picture up and throw darts at it?”
Makayla nodded. “We’ll find the ugliest ones on TMZ and print them out.”
“Oh, goody.” I clapped through my tears.
She gave me a one-sided shoulder hug. “It’s been a lot, it sounds like.”
I nodded, leaning my head on her shoulder and sinking there.
“You know what you need?”
I shook my head, eyes wet.
“All mamas and mamas-to-be deserve pampering! It sounds like these idiots have been running you ragged. Have you even been taking any me-time?”
I sniffled and tried to think. “Leander broke his leg, and he really needs a lot of help, and then there’s all the publicity, and it’s just been so nonstop—”
“Zip it!” Makayla made a motion across my lips with her fingers. “All I’m hearing are excuses for you not taking care of yourself. You’re growing a person inside you! You could lay on a couch all day and be the most productive person I know! I know this is an insane concept to someone like you—but it’s called taking a day off.”
I tried to shake my head. “I’m in Italy. My whole life is a day off.”
“Horse-shit. Everything you’ve described to me sounds stressful as hell. Come on. You were there when I told you about all the therapy I went through. And how even when good stuff is happening—or shit that should be good—on the outside, it doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have all sorts of different feelings about it on the inside.”