Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
A while later, Bethany turns off the open sign, and I kick the torture devices off my feet. “Oh my God.” I sigh as the blood flows back into my toes. “How the hell do women wear these?”
“We’re trained young,” Cora tells me before glancing down at my feet. Her pained wince tells me how bad they look. “You’re going to need to soak those for a while and then elevate them until the swelling goes down.”
A lightbulb goes off over my head as my bear perks up and gives me a little nudge. “Maybe you could come to my house and help me take care of them?” I blurt out his idea.
“Pussy,” Clay whispers under his breath, but I ignore my dipshit brother and school my face into a pained expression.
“I had no idea how much those damn things would hurt. I’m not sure I can even walk.” I’m going to use every method at my disposal to get Cora to spend time with me. I neglect to tell her that I plan to do everything in my power to convince her to stay forever.
“Poor baby,” Clay growls, interrupting us. “Do you need your big brother to carry you to the car?” His silly expression causes both Bethany and Cora to burst out laughing.
“Hell yes.” The blisters all over my feet guarantee I’m not going to refuse that offer.
I can see through Wilder’s plan a mile away, but I don’t care that he’s playing on my sympathy. Something inside me softened as I watched the huge bear shifter prance around in a French maid costume all day long. Every time I looked over at him, I found Wilder staring at me with a look of longing that finished melting my heart.
After Clay helps Wilder out to his large truck, Bethany and I follow them to Wilder’s secluded home.
“Are you sure about this?” My sister fidgets in the passenger seat. “Wilder won’t be too happy if you’re just messing around with him.”
“I’m not messing around,” I reassure my overprotective sister. “But I’m not about to let him walk all over me. I’m planning to make him work for it.” I might be ready to give Wilder a chance, but I’m not going to make it easy for him.
“You go, girl.” Bethany lets me know she has my back.
We follow the black truck down a long, tree-lined driveaway. At the end, we come to a stunning two-story log cabin. “Wow,” my sister gasps. “He has a beautiful home.”
“I know,” I tell her and glance around at the large cabin surrounded on two sides by trees. I park in the front circular drive and turn to Bethany. “Wish me luck.”
I can always count on my sister to have my back. “Give him hell.”
After Clay helps me settle Wilder on his large black leather sofa, my sister and her mate leave. In the back of my mind, I realize they aren’t fighting each other anymore. While I’m happy for my sister, I’ll have to deal with my own mating situation before I make her tell me all the details.
“I’ll order us dinner.” Wilder interrupts my thoughts. “What would you like to eat?”
“Is there a good pizza place in Honey Pot Hollow? I haven’t had pizza since we moved here.” Back home, my sisters and I would have pizza from Mario’s Pizza Den at least once a week, but we’ve been so busy getting Honey Buns up and running that we haven’t had time to look for a pizza place in town.
“Paddy’s Pizza is pretty good. What do you like on your pizza?” Wilder asks me.
“Pepperoni and Canadian bacon.” He doesn’t even blink at my choice. While Wilder orders our dinner, I look around his stunning cabin. The living room sits in the middle of the large open space with the kitchen surrounded by a breakfast bar on one side and a floor-to-ceiling fireplace on the other side. The front wall has an entry door surrounded by two tall windows on each side. In the kitchen is a wall-sized sliding glass door leading out to the patio. Glancing out the window, I realize the patio wraps around the house on three sides.
“Your house is beautiful,” I tell Wilder once he hangs up.
“Thank you.” He smiles at me. “It took me a few years to design exactly what I wanted. Then Thorne’s company built it for me.”
I sit next to him on the sofa. “While we wait for our dinner, why don’t you tell me about your family.”
Wilder places his arm around my shoulders, and I nearly melt into a pile of goo on the spot. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” I lean back and smile up into his dark brown eyes. “If there’s a chance we’re going to be mates, I want to know what I’m getting into.”