Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“How do you know?” Petal asked.
“I see it when he comes into the diner. I barely know him, but I see enough to know he is in love with you.”
Tanya pulled away, and Petal was left alone in the now very clean bathroom. She hoped the guys did not get used to this.
She had come into the bathroom to help her friend, and Tanya had done more of the helping.
****
Rosalie made her way into the kitchen, where she found Colt, alone, drinking a mug of coffee. They hadn’t talked properly since their home burned down, and she had been with Petal. She had wanted to be with Colt, but he’d been so angry.
“Hey,” she said.
Colt looked over to her and smiled, putting his coffee mug down, and opening his arms.
This still felt surreal to her, going into Colt’s waiting arms, embracing her husband, seeking his love and attention. She didn’t hesitate, and he held her tightly.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
“What are we going to do?” Rosalie asked.
“Simple, we’re going to rebuild. The guys have already told me they’re going to help. We’ve got the fire department finishing their final checks and doing all their investigative shit, and then we’ll move on.”
“Why are they investigating?” Rosalie asked.
“Checking for the insurance, but the bonus is, they set fire on the wrong night. We were at Petal’s, and the guys were either at the clubhouse or the hospital. We’ve got security footage for both, also the fact I was staying with you. We’ve got this, I promise.”
“What do you think would have happened if we’d gone home?” she asked.
“Don’t. I don’t even want to think about the possibility of what might have happened. We didn’t. We’re safe and we’re going to make this work. We can build a house together, and you can have what you want.”
Rosalie laughed. “Then all I want is for you to rebuild what we lost. I thought your house was perfect.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I did.” She went onto her tiptoes and kissed her husband. Their home had been perfect, and she knew it was going to be so again.
Chapter Eighteen
Petal stepped into Dirty’s room and glanced around. There was no mess. All the clothes he had gotten her to pack were neatly folded in the chest of drawers or hung up in the closet. Sharing a room with him was a little surreal to her. She had thought about it so many times when they were together, and now it seemed so crazy to be sharing a room with him. She couldn’t help but think about what Tanya said.
Dirty had told her he loved her.
This was not a decision for anyone else but her to make, and it was a scary one. She knew he was nothing like Daemon and she didn’t feel afraid of him in that way. He’d never hurt her like that, but he had hurt her.
She didn’t want to keep thinking about the past, but her memories of Gabrielle were surfacing. That woman had been afraid of her own shadow due to Daemon. She hadn’t truly been there for her daughter. Rosalie had to do everything. She had to fight and make sacrifices for her mother. If it hadn’t been for Gabrielle, she and Rosalie would have been out of town without a backward look. They wouldn’t be in this position now. Rosalie wouldn’t have had to suffer at Colt’s hands, and Petal wouldn’t have been with Dirty.
Moving toward the bed, she sat down, and that was when she realized she wouldn’t change what they had gone through for anyone. They had made it work. Rosalie was pregnant with her first child, happily married. Against all odds, Colt and Rosalie had found one another. As for herself, she had found Dirty. She had experienced pain and life and love, and sex. So much more than she thought was possible.
The bedroom door opened and Dirty stepped into the room.
“Are you okay?” Dirty asked. “I saw you making your way upstairs, and I wanted to check on you.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thinking about a whole bunch of stuff.” She ran her hands down her thighs.
He closed the door behind him and moved closer to the bed, taking a seat beside her. She didn’t move. Didn’t even say a word. She just sat there, waiting.
This wasn’t a bad feeling. She loved him being close.
She looked up and smiled at him. “Did you know little by little, Tanya is cleaning your home?” she asked.
He laughed. “I did notice the bathroom downstairs is clean.”
“She can’t stand any mess, apparently.”
“Petal, I know what you’re doing.” He reached for her hand and took it in his own. He linked their fingers together and kissed her knuckles.
She felt tears spring to her eyes.
“I get it. I know what I did to you.”
“Stop,” Petal said. “I wasn’t thinking about us. I was thinking about Gabrielle, and I was thinking about Rosalie, and just everything that has happened.” She leaned against his shoulder. “I don’t want to keep thinking about what happened to us.”