Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
It’s called The Bear and has a symbol of a snoring bear at the corner of the sign. The door itself is thick and speakeasy-like, almost warning people away. It’s quiet at this time of day, but the blackened windows make it seem like bad things are happening there.
Climbing from my car, I’m about to head into the apartment building when I spot her. She’s leaning against the trunk of her car, her hands on her knees, taking slow breaths as she looks at the ground. There’s something about her pose that seems familiar.
When she stands up, my breath catches. She’s … beautiful. I feel stunned. It’s a new and unusual experience for me, a woman striking me this hard. She’s got luscious brown hair tied up in a no-bullshit bun. Her shirt is buttoned up but shows the shape of her hips and chest, and she has a professional black skirt hugging her thick legs. More than how smoking hot and curvy she is, though, it’s her aura. She just seems good, like a person I want to get to know more about. I can’t remember the last time I ever felt like this. I thought my job was supposed to have ruined relationships for me.
She sees me looking, causing me to look away instinctively. I don’t want to get caught leering like some creep. When she walks over to me, I know she saw me watching her. I’m probably about to get a speech about staring at women, and it’s not like I can blame her.
“Luh-Landon?” she says, like she’s unsure. Her voice is damn sweet to listen to.
“Yeah,” I say, looking down at her. Up close, she seems even more gorgeous, her cheeks ever so slightly blushing red, her eyes, though young, hardened, and alert. “Do I know you?”
“You probably don’t remember me,” she murmurs, “but you saved my life.”
CHAPTER FOUR
LILY
Iexpect him to tell me I’ve got it wrong. Since I was a kid and this knight in shining armor rode into my life, I’ve wondered if I dreamed of him. Whenever I thought about how he handled things, his efficiency, calm, and determination to do the right thing always made me want to do the same thing.
“I’m sorry?” he says, his kind eyes at odds with his careful, guarded exterior.
He’s tall and broad-shouldered, his slick silver suit hugging his powerful frame. His arms fill the suit jacket. His eyes are empathetic, dark blue, and searching, as though he’s interested in everything and everyone. His hair is black with threads of silver in it, highlighting his experience.
I’m sure it’s him.
“Is your name Landon?” I ask, feeling like a douche now.
“Yes,” he says, putting me out of my misery, “but considering I saved your life, you’ve got me at a loss …”
“You probably won’t remember me,” I murmur. “When I was a kid, my parents were getting divorced. My mom was going through a bad spot with …” I hesitate, then remember he knows and saw it and continue, “… her addiction, but she was way better than my dad. He wasn’t exactly loving, remember?”
Maybe it’s the desperation in the question, how badly I need him to understand so I don’t need to explain Dad’s rants and the way he would break things, and how sometimes his violence wouldn’t stay relegated to objects. Finally, Landon’s kind eyes snap open in realization.
“Lia?” he says.
“Lily,” I quickly correct, “but yeah.”
“You lived … here, right?” He looks up and down The Row.
“We did, yeah.” I nod. “You took on Mom’s case. You stopped me from going into care. You gave her a second chance.”
“When was this?” he says, a soft smile touching his lips. “It must’ve been … ten years ago?”
“Yep. I was twelve. I never learned your surname then, and Mom doesn’t like talking about when she was like that.”
“Like that,” meaning completely dependent on pills.
“Is she doing better now?” he asks.
“Much, thank you. I think you gave her a wake-up call.”
He looks down at my feet and then back at my face, the corner of his lips twitching. Something tells me he’s comparing how I looked as a kid to how I look now. I was frumpy and bigger back then. I’m not exactly thin now, but I feel like I’ve grown into my curves. Surely, he’s not doing that. I was twelve the last time he saw me. Just because I had a crush on him, it doesn’t mean he’d ever think twice about me.
“Do you still live around here?” he asks after a pause.
“No, when Mom got clean, she moved us out. I’m here for work. I’m a social worker now. You inspired me. When I saw how you handled the system back then—not to mention Dad—and without asking for a fee, it meant a lot to me …”