Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
When I opened the door, Walker stood on the other side looking grim-faced and brooding as ever. To be honest, I’d been so distracted by Callie and how everything was affecting her, I hadn’t had a lot of time to think about the fact that Walker had put distance between us again. However, the past week, with her improving so much, I’d been relieved enough to contemplate it. The man gave me whiplash.
I could only assume that four weeks of nothing but professionalism and sweetness toward my kid meant Walker Ironside was done with our casual sex arrangement. He was only in our lives as part of some misguided notion he needed to make certain we were definitely safe. Part of me wondered if he was upset with himself because he hadn’t been there when Nathan made his move.
That was crazy, though, and I’d tell him so if he ever bothered to let me in, to explain to me what was on his mind.
His eyes lowered down my body, and something like heat flickered there for a second before he turned away. “Time to go.”
The short drive to the school was excruciating.
It went something like this.
“How are you?” Me.
“Fine.” Walker.
“Do anything fun lately?” Again, me.
His reply was a grunt. That was it. Just a grunt. Like he was a freaking caveman.
I didn’t bother speaking after that and neither did he. Not even a grunt.
It hurt. More than I wanted it to. Which meant maybe it was a good thing it had ended between us. I’d promised, after all, to walk away if my feelings developed into something more. But I … it wasn’t like I was in love with Walker, right? I liked him, and I enjoyed sex with him. The hurt I felt was what any normal human being would feel when they’d been rejected.
“Wait there,” Walker commanded as we pulled into a parking space at the school. There were lots of other cars parked already.
I waited, feeling slightly impatient, as Walker rounded the hood to open my door. I got out with a murmured thanks and then strode toward the school before he could say another word.
Walker fell into step beside me, and his arm brushed mine. Even though I could barely feel it through my coat, it was enough to make me move a little away from him. If he noticed, he didn’t comment or react. Once inside, we passed other parents, following the corridor toward Ellen Hunter’s classroom. The school had bumped up the heating, and it was too hot. I shrugged out of my coat, folding it over my arm as we neared the classroom where parents waited outside on tiny seats meant for children or stood against the wall. I spotted Regan and Thane and hurried toward them like they were a lifeline.
“Walker’s not coming over?” Regan asked, frowning at him.
I glanced over my shoulder to see he’d taken up position against the wall opposite the classroom door and was glancing slowly left and right, taking in everything.
Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Lewis’s parents. “He’s in bodyguard mode.”
Regan smirked. “You don’t look happy about that.”
“He barely said a word the entire drive here. He even grunted at me.”
She shook with laughter while Thane asked dryly, “And we’re surprised by this? Walker isn’t known for being particularly loquacious.”
I shrugged, feeling that sting of hurt again. “He used to talk to me. Not lately, though.”
The couple shared a knowing look, so I quickly changed the subject. “How has Callie been with you guys?”
They were quick to assure me they’d noticed an improvement in Callie’s mood. I asked after Lewis, too, because Regan had told me the poor kid felt guilty for not noticing his best friend had left school that afternoon.
“He’s doing much better. Watches Callie like a hawk,” Thane replied.
“Yeah. Typical Adair male, overprotective of their females,” Regan teased.
I raised an eyebrow. “They’re a little young for it to be …”
“Oh, I just meant in friendship with those two. But who knows?” She shimmied excitedly, her dimples flashing. “Maybe as they get older, it’ll turn into more.”
“Christ, she’s planning their wedding already, I can tell,” Thane muttered, but he was looking at her with such tenderness, I felt a pang of undiluted envy. Joy for them that they had so much love between them because they deserved it, but also envy. Longing. Loneliness, if I was honest with myself.
“I don’t know about that.” I smiled, shaking off my melancholy. “If Callie beats Lewis at tae kwon do one more time …”
“Lewis is getting better at losing to Callie,” Thane observed. “We had a wee talk after the last time about being a good sportsman.”
“He wants to be the capable one for Callie, the protector, so losing to her is pretty hard.”
I frowned at Regan. “He’s surely not thinking like that at his age?”