Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Releasing me, he steps away, and I slowly turn to see him standing in front of me, panting, his big, muscled chest rising and falling as his eyes lock onto mine. There is a moment, the smallest moment, that I see something in him. Something beautiful. Something I can’t explain. Something that makes it almost impossible not to fall in love with him.
And I finally get it.
Why Chloe was so empty when she left him.
Why she fell for him so quickly.
Why his very name brought something into her eyes that lit up her soul.
I get it, because if I’m not careful, I might just feel it too.
I’m walking in dangerous territory here, and I know I need to take a step back.
I can’t do that to her.
I can’t.
I must let this go.
9
Sweat runs down my body as I run the paint roller up and down the walls that the builder has put up inside the house. It’s finally looking like a home again, with the inner walls no longer exposed. He spent the entire day yesterday here, and even though I was hungover, I managed to help him out. We got most of the house done, and today he’s finishing the rest while I begin painting what he has done.
I’ve picked a neutral creamy color for the walls, thinking of what people might like if they buy this place. A clean slate for them to paint it whatever color they might like. I start with my room first, making sure it is back to being a safe place to sleep. With the windows replaced and the new walls up, it feels nice in here. I’ve scrubbed the floor and polished the old timber, and now with a coat of paint, it feels ... brand new.
I take the tent down, even though it saddens me a little to do that. Nobody has ever been quite so nice to me before. It’s humbling. In saying that, Colt has avoided me since our shower incident, and that has done a little more than make me angry. I went to the club yesterday to borrow some things, and he looked right at me, then walked away as if I were nothing. It was crushing, but it was a stark reminder that to him, I am nothing.
He can have any woman he wants – I just made it easy for him.
I won’t be making that mistake again.
Not to mention the guilt that consumes me when I wake up the next day sober.
I know, deep down, Chloe wouldn’t care, she would want him to be happy, but the problem is, he’s not happy. He’s just using me to fill a void, and I must admit, that hurts. It hurts because he looked at her like the sun, and me? I’m nothing more than a pale moon in comparison. I wish, for a single moment of my life, someone looked at me like I was the sun. I wish Colt didn’t look at me like I am the worst thing to enter his life.
Swiping the sweat away, I decide to take a break. I need to have some water and food, because I am still feeling the effects from my alcohol consumption a few nights ago, not to mention the fact that I chased a stranger down the road and then hit my head. I’d do it again, though. Over and over, because I’m not going to let anyone threaten me and get away with it. Not today. Tossing my brush down, I walk out of the room and past the builder who is still working. I step out the front onto the porch and flinch because I’m startled by a man coming up the steps.
It's Anthony.
Shit.
I forgot about Anthony.
I didn’t message him after the party I met him at like I was supposed to.
I feel a little bad, because, honestly, I hadn’t thought about him at all.
“Sorry I startled you.” He smiles, a bag of food and two coffees in his hand. “I didn’t know if it would be too forward to pop in and see how you were going. I hadn’t heard from you, so it is a big risk. I hope it’s okay. I thought you could use a hand, maybe a coffee and something to eat?”
His actions could come across as creepy, or simply polite.
He doesn’t seem creepy, so I’m going to say he’s just a nice guy.
I smile. “You must have read my mind; I was just going to get some food. I’m sorry I didn’t call—I have been flat out here. If I’m honest, I forgot.”
He shrugs. “It happens. It looks like you’ve got quite the job ahead of you.”
He glances around the mess surrounding the house.
“That’s an understatement.”
“Take a coffee, and you can tell me where you’re up to and I can see what I can help with.”