Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Not that I need to justify my relationship with Maggie to you, but I’m in love with her, have been for a long fucking time, and there hasn’t been anyone since the moment I met her,” I growl.
“Morgan?” Maggie calls, stepping into the room. “What are you doing in here?” she questions, looking between her sister and me.
“Just talking to Sven,” she answers while standing up from the bed and running her hands down the front of her shorts.
“I heard you,” Maggie tells her quietly, and Morgan looks at me before looking at her sister again, shaking her head.
“He’s a… You have no idea the kinds of stories I’ve heard about him,” Morgan tells her, and I feel myself still.
“You’re a druggie, Morgan,” Maggie whispers, and Morgan pales then whispers back, “That’s not fair.”
“It’s not? And why’s that?” Maggie asks, taking a step toward me, reaching back and placing her hand in mine.
“I’m going to get help,” she says, dropping her hands to her sides, standing taller as her hands form fist.
“So you’re going to change?” Maggie asks, studying her.
“Yes,” she states vehemently, and I see it then in her eyes, the will to get clean, the reason Maggie’s put herself on the line time and time again to help her.
“That’s good, Morgan.” Maggie nods taking another step back toward me. “But I hope you remember this moment. I hope that one day, when someone is judging your character by your past, you remember this moment,” she whispers, turning to face me, missing Morgan’s flinch as she does.
Placing her hands against my abs, her head tilts back, and I rest my hand around the side of her neck and dip my face closer to her. “Mom made breakfast, and she made a lot of it. Come eat.”
“Is it tofu?” I ask with a fake grimace.
Smiling, her hands move up my chest and she answers with a quiet, “Yep.”
“Great,” I lie, leaning in, placing a kiss on her forehead, and then standing, and my eyes meet Morgan’s, who is looking between the two of us with an almost startled look on her face before ducking out of the room without another word.
“I’m sorry about that,” Maggie says, bringing my attention back to her.
“Don’t be. She was coming from a place of concern for you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still peeved at her for doing that,” she grumbles.
“Peeved, huh?” I ask with a smile, and she smacks my chest, rolling her eyes. Kissing her forehead once more, I grab my shoes and take a seat on the side of the bed, putting both on before letting her lead me downstairs to the kitchen, where her mom has made a breakfast for fifty instead of five, and it’s all piled in the middle of a small round table. Taking a seat next to Maggie, I lean over and whisper, “Where’s the tofu?” making her laugh and lean into my side.
“What’s funny?” her dad asks, placing a stack of what looks like whole wheat pancakes on his plate.
“Sven isn’t a fan of tofu,” Maggie tells him, smiling.
“Really?” he asks, looking at me.
“It’s not one of my favorite things to eat,” I tell him, giving Maggie’s inner thigh a squeeze, and her legs trap my hand.
“I miss bacon,” he admits, and Maggie’s mom glares at him. “What? It’s true,” he grumbles.
“I didn’t even know you’ve tried bacon,” Maggie says quietly, looking at him like she’s never seen him before.
“I wasn’t always a vegetarian. Neither was your mom.”
“Really?” Morgan asks as she takes a seat between her parents on a chair that doesn’t match the rest around the table.
“Really,” their mom answers, kissing Morgan’s cheek.
“Did you sleep okay, Sven?” Maisy asks as Maggie piles pancakes and fruit on my plate.
“Slept great. It’s so quiet here.”
“Yeah, one of my favorite things about living out here is the silence,” Monroe says, and then his eyes move between his girls at the table. “But I do miss the house being noisy, like when you girls were home.”
Looking across the table, I see Maisy’s eyes fill with tears then look at Morgan, and notice hers are the same. I feel Maggie’s hand move to mine on her lap and squeeze.
“I miss you, too, Dad. I miss you and Mom both,” Maggie whispers, and her dad reaches over, giving her shoulder a soft squeeze, then his eyes move to me.
“Promise you’ll bring my girl around more?”
“I’ll do that,” I agree softly, and Maggie’s hand spasms in mine. I’m not sure what happened with them, but I can see they all want to be a family; they just got off track at some point.
“Next time you come, I’ll teach you guys some of the Kama Sutra,” Maisy says happily, and my head swings her way. I’m not someone who gets surprised easily, but that comment definitely threw me.