Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Recently single with her whole life up in the air, Emma Abate knows that getting into any kind of relationship, is a bad idea. Especially when the man she finds herself drawn to is Miles Thatcher, a single father, and a man that seems determined to break down every barricade she places between them.
Could this be real?
Miles doesn’t do complicated. But it’s difficult to remember all the reasons why Emma is supposed to be off limits when she begins to fill a void in his and his daughters' life, a void that he never realized was there, until her.
Before this ends will Miles and Emma realize they have something worth fighting for? Or will his job as a detective, the murder of two young women, and Emma’s past get the best of them before they ever get the chance?
Life is never simple, and neither is love.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER 1
emma
With both my hands filled with grocery bags, I curse under my breath as I attempt to lift the heavy weight high enough to reach the button for the elevator. I probably should’ve left some of the bags behind, but since that would mean making another trip to my car and back, there is no way I was going to do that. Once I hit the button, I quickly step onto the elevator with my hand still up when the doors open and hit the button for the third floor, sighing in relief as my arm lowers, taking some of the weight off my wrist.
When the doors open again, I step off and walk down the carpeted hall to our door and kick the bottom with my foot, hoping Eli will hear and come help. A useless endeavor, since he didn’t even hear his phone when I called him earlier as I was pulling into the parking garage, hoping he would come meet me and help lug our groceries upstairs. With no response, I set all the bags down on the floor, dig out my key, and unlock the door. When I push it open, Dolly—Eli’s teacup poodle—runs out to greet me with happy little yips of excitement.
“Hi, baby.” I scoop her up and hold her against my chest as I carry her inside. Scanning the living room, I don’t see Eli, but I can hear him in the bedroom, talking loudly, so I know without a doubt he’s on his X-Box. He’s also most likely wearing his headphones, hence why he didn’t hear his phone ringing or me pounding on the door.
Tucking away my annoyance, I place Dolly in her pen so she can’t get out of the apartment, because chasing her down the halls is never fun, then go back to the door and gather the bags. It doesn’t take me long to get everything inside, but the task of putting everything away is a different story. Eli is particular about where things go, so I can’t just shove crap into the cupboards. Instead, I have to open boxes of crackers or bags of chips and put them in their see-through containers and line up the cans so you can see the labels.
While I’m putting his beer away in the fridge, I hear the door to the bedroom open and look over the top of the island to watch him appear, wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt—the same thing he had on this morning before I left for work.
“I didn’t know you were home.” He walks into the kitchen to join me, taking one of the beers from the door of the fridge I’m still holding open. Him not greeting me with a kiss isn’t a surprise; he’s never been overly affectionate, and I’ve never minded, since he’s shown he cares in other ways.
“I tried to call you to ask you to come help me bring up the groceries.” I shut the door after putting the last beer inside.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear my phone.” He leans back against the counter across from me and unscrews the lid with a flick of his wrist. “Is there anything left in your car?”
“No, I got it all.” I lean back against the counter behind me and cross my arms over my chest. “Were you able to get to the post office for me?”
“Shit.” His eyes lock on mine and fill with remorse. “I totally spaced it. I’m sorry, Emma.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go tomorrow before work.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I don’t bother pointing out there’s nothing he can do about it anyway. It’s already after six, so the post office is closed, meaning I can’t get the package he was supposed to pick up.
“What are we doing for dinner?” He reaches up toward my face and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear before he lets his hand fall away.
“We’re supposed to have dinner with Mica and Lynn tonight, remember?”
“Oh, right,” he mutters, and I press my lips together.
“You forgot the dinner with your friends that you planned?”
“No, I remembered.”
“Sure, you did.” I roll my eyes, and he smiles.
“Where are we meeting them again?”
“Seriously?” I laugh, and he chuckles. “We’re meeting them down the block at that new Mexican restaurant that opened last week—” I glance at the clock on the wall. “in thirty minutes, so you have just enough time to change.”
“Are you saying my outfit isn’t going to cut it?”
“I didn’t say it. You did.” I smile, and he laughs, taking his beer with him as he walks toward the bedroom.
I follow and take Dolly out of her pen before going to our room and placing her on the bed. I go to the closet to change out of the top I wore to work today, since it smells like the hair salon, which isn’t bad but also isn't great, and put on a sweater, leaving on my heels and jeans.