Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I’m not sure I want to know.
“Just promise you won’t do anything rash before talking to me, okay?”
“I’ll talk to you before making any decisions. We’re in this together, right?”
“Right.”
“And you’ll break things off with her?” Her demanding tone rubs me the wrong way, and I’m tempted to tell her where she can shove her ultimatum. Instead, I use my less-than-stellar past to convince her she has nothing to worry about.
“There’s nothing to break off. You were right. It wasn’t serious.”
She studies me too long as if searching for the answer she hopes to find. “For real?”
Not even close, but I’ll lie until my nose grows by a foot if I have to.
“Yes. Over before it started,” I say, trying to reel in my clipped tone. “There’s no one else.”
Corinne relaxes into the lie, the muscles in her body loosening as she exhales. “Okay.”
And just like that, she buys it.
For the next couple of months, I’ll have to sell it, and after this mess is resolved, I pray to God Sadie will forgive me.
Telling her is going to be hell.
It’s pouring again by the time I drop Corinne off at her apartment. She begs me to stay with her, but I use the excuse of being tired from a long day at work.
Even though I’m still caked in mud, exhausted, and it’s late, I detour to Sadie’s place on my way home. I’m far from ready for this conversation, but I have to be straight with her since keeping shit from her the first time didn’t work out so well, and that’s a mistake I won’t make again.
I rush through the parking lot of her apartment complex, rain drenching me along the way, and climb the stairs two at a time to escape the downpour. Walking in is second nature, but the door is locked, so I rap on the wood and wait. Footsteps sound, and when the door opens, my sister is standing on the other side.
“I need to talk to Sadie,” I say, wiping the rain from my face.
“I don’t think she wants to see you right now.”
“It’s important.”
She opens the door wider. “If you upset her, you’ll wish you were an only child.”
“You need to chill out. This is between her and me.”
“Yeah,” she scoffs. “You’re my brother, and she’s my best friend. Shit ain’t that simple, Ash.”
I gaze around the apartment and take in the empty couch, the dark kitchen, and the muted TV that’s showing some program about tattoo artists. “Where is she?”
Mandy points toward the hall. “In her bedroom. I doubt she’s asleep yet. I think she just got out of the shower.”
My breath hitches, and I imagine Sadie’s soft skin under my fingertips and the sweet scent of vanilla wafting to my nose. Her long hair wet and tangled and so fucking tempting that I can practically feel it held captive in my fist.
Focus, asshole.
Stalling in front of Sadie’s bedroom door, I close my eyes and inhale. Part of me is hoping I’ll catch her naked. The other part knows how foolish it is to wave a red flag of temptation in front of a bull.
Foolish it is.
I knock twice then enter before she can answer. She’s wearing a tank top and sleep shorts, and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or relieved.
Sadie glances up from brushing her hair, fingers frozen around the handle of the wooden hairbrush. “What the hell, Ash?”
“I need to talk to you.”
She pulls the brush clear to the ends then sets it on a white desk scattered with beauty products. I find it ironic that she owns so much female junk since she doesn’t wear makeup often.
She doesn’t need to.
“The last time you said you needed to talk, I ended up cutting my father loose.” She takes a seat on the end of the bed, and I settle next to her.
“You finally stood up to him?”
“Yep.”
“How did it go?”
“About as well as expected.”
I want to touch her. Instead, I clench my hands. If I start touching her now, I won’t stop. Her bed is taunting me to strip her naked and spread her out before me, on top of me, underneath me. My willpower where Sadie’s concerned is almost non-existent, whittled away from the intense experiences we shared these past few weeks.
“What’s so important that you needed to crash my bedroom?”
The explanation lodges in my throat, and I swallow hard before speaking. “Corinne is threatening to have an abortion.”
“Threatening? Why would she do that?”
“She says she doesn’t want to be a single parent.”
“What are you trying to say, Ash?”
“I’m saying the situation has gotten more complicated. Corinne will keep the baby if I…”
Christ, I can’t say it.
She jumps to her feet, brows narrowing, spine stiffening, and I don’t miss the suspicion in her jade eyes. “If you what? Just spit it out.”