Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95906 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95906 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Yeah, he was pissed.
“Hey, um, I told the kids we could order a pizza and since I know you can’t eat that, we can just eat it in my room—”
“Christopher,” Con said even as he kept his eyes on me. They were burning with anger. But not surprisingly, I wasn’t afraid of him, not physically anyway. I knew he’d never lay a hand on me in anger.
“King is on his way up. He’s going to take you and Rory out for dinner. Why don’t you and your sister go change? King has the code for the door so he’ll let himself in.”
“I don’t—” I began to say, but a single jerk of Con’s head had me falling silent. I’d asked him to rip the Band-Aid off and it looked like he was going to do just that.
“Go, Christopher,” Con said more gently and then he glanced at my nephew. Something passed between them that had Christopher reaching for Rory’s hand. Before I could say anything, Con was stepping onto the elevator with me. He crowded me against the side of it even as he jammed his thumb down on the button that would take us to the second floor where the master suite was located.
His master suite.
I’d insisted on having my own room for appearance’s sake, but I hadn’t spent a single night there since we’d arrived in the city. Secretly, I’d even started to think of Con’s room as ours, but it was one more truth to face. It was his room. His apartment. His successful life.
The one I didn’t fit into.
Round hole versus square peg.
“Do you want to explain to me what the fuck just happened back there?” Con growled as he slapped his hands on either side of my head, caging me in.
“The kids—”
“—will be safe with King,” Con snapped impatiently.
“What is he doing here?” I asked, though it was nothing more than a stall tactic. “I thought your family wasn’t getting here until tomorrow night.”
“So that’s what you want to talk to me about right now? My fucking brother?”
There was no denying how pissed Con was. “I’m sorry.”
Con let out a soft curse under his breath and pushed off the wall and moved away from me. I’d never felt more alone in my entire life.
“Five minutes ago I was riding the high of my life because I was so sure you wanted the same thing as me,” Con said softly with a shake of his head. There was no denying the hurt in his voice and the knowledge that I very well might have jumped to the wrong conclusion began to niggle at my brain.
As the elevator doors opened, Con just stared at me for several long seconds, then murmured, “Consider the Band-Aid fucking ripped off.” Then he reached into the pocket of his jacket. “Here, you’ll need this,” he said brusquely and then handed me a piece of paper.
The second I took it from him, he stepped off the elevator.
I knew what the piece of paper was. I didn’t know how I knew, I just did. There was no need to open it and scan its contents, but I did so anyway. The tears filling my eyes made the words blurry, but there was no denying my sister-in-law’s jagged signature at the bottom of the document.
He’d done it.
He’d found Clara and he’d gotten her to sign away her rights to the kids. I dashed at my eyes so I could read the last few lines of the very legal-looking document. I let out a half-sob when I realized not only had Clara given up her parental rights, she’d named me as the kids’ legal guardian, clearing the way for me to adopt both kids.
I shook my head in disbelief. This was what Con had needed to tell me? It made no sense. Why would he be worried about telling me what we’d been working for from day one? If anything, it was something to celebrate…
Confusion slashed through me and it was all I could do not to crumple the paper up in my hand. I hurried out of the elevator and made my way to Con’s room. The door was closed but that didn’t stop me from throwing it open.
I easily found him. He was standing by the balcony, though he was inside, not outside.
“What is this?” I snapped as I strode to his side. I held the paper up. “You were worried about what you needed to tell me. Don’t pretend you weren’t. I know you!”
Con’s eyes were on the lights of the city surrounding us. He didn’t respond. Not with words, not with action. Not with anything.
It was like he was already gone. I’d already lost him.
My self-preservation instinct kicked into overdrive and I once again gave in to my need to run.
To escape.