Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
So if there are masks up, maybe they will fall quickly and we can see if we’re as compatible as I’m hoping we are.
“I want to pay for everything today,” I say after confirming with the warehouse manager the things they plan to start loading up on the trailer.
“They’re club purchases,” Kincaid says, rejecting my offer with no further explanation. “How do you feel about work?”
“What do you mean?” I ask as we walk back into the store part of the building.
“From my own experience, I know that working while single and working when you have a family at home waiting for you are two very different beasts.”
“I have no doubt,” I tell him.
I haven’t thought about work in so long, but it’s only been a few weeks since we went out.
The itch covering my skin begins to fade when I lock eyes on her once again.
“When will I know?” I ask, a vulnerability in my tone I can’t seem to help.
“Know what?”
“When it’s real.”
“You’ll just know.”
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” I say. “I want to see her all the time, even when we’ve only been apart for a brief time. I would burn the world down for her and the kids.”
“Sounds like you may already know.”
“It’s too soon,” I argue, the same words that I’ve heard in my head on repeat for the last couple of days.
“It isn’t,” he argues. “Sometimes it just happens like that. I was gone for Em in a matter of days. Now it took us a little longer to meet in the middle, but we eventually got there. Now, we’ve been together for over thirty years, and that love we felt in the beginning is stronger than it’s ever been.”
I nod, taking it all in as I watch her smile. Her eyes wander, looking through the store until they land on mine. I swear my heart beats just a little faster with her attention on me.
“I urge you not to listen to what others might say or what opinions they may have. How they would handle this situation and how you handle it don’t have to be the same. They aren’t living your life. You have to follow your heart. If your heart is no longer angry about the time you lost with Sutton and you want to spend more time with Mila, then you should focus on that.”
I take a deep breath, the air rushing from my lungs with relief. Until now, I didn’t realize how much I was holding onto because I was worried about other people. It makes it clear now why Mila thought I might have had a plan to take the kids away from her. But I knew early on that I could either stay bitter and fight with the woman my daughter loves so much, or I could accept that I lost two years of Sutton’s life. Staying bitter would only make me lose even more time, and that wasn’t something I was willing to do.
“Thank you,” I tell him, earning a clap on the back.
“You’ll be fine, and all of this will work out exactly how it was always supposed to.”
I stay in the same spot, watching her when he walks away.
Shadow listens intently as she speaks, no doubt explaining with too much detail about what she needs and why. I know her enough to know that she isn’t happy about all of these things being paid for by someone else. She also isn’t foolish enough to refuse it either. I’m fairly certain she’s already trying to formulate a plan to pay it all back, just as I’m certain that Kincaid would never let it happen.
Chapter 28
Mila
The atmosphere in the vehicle feels different from how it did on the drive in. The air isn’t clouded with a million questions. I don’t have the answers to everything, but I’m in a better position of understanding after speaking with him earlier.
Vincent clasps my hand in his when I go to pull it back after adjusting the air conditioner.
It probably shouldn’t thrill me the way it does. I feel like a schoolgirl holding her crush’s hand which is ridiculous considering the things I’ve done with this man.
I want to sink inside of him when he rubs his thumb back and forth over the top of my hand. It has to be the most non-sexual touch, but my body doesn’t understand the difference between this and his hands on my naked skin.
He chuckles when I swallow, telling me he’s well aware of the way my body reacts to his. I’d feel embarrassed if two seconds later he didn’t shift in his own seat.
“I think we can give Jace the rest of this week to get acclimated, but then he’ll need to get started back to school,” he says.
I turn my head and blink in his direction. That was the very last thing I thought he’d say right now.