Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
As soon as I’m in the shower, I’m taken back to Ashley’s “honeymoon.” The warmth, the passion, the peace.
Her cheeky comments. Her shy smiles. Her soft touches.
I shower quickly, wishing I was still in the Bahamas. It just pisses me off that it’s over.
It’s all over, I fear.
Once I’ve toweled off and brushed my teeth, I flop on the bed. Rummaging around, I find the pillow that Ashley used and pull it to me.
My chest physically aches without her. My body screams without her nearby. My heart breaks knowing what she went through tonight.
What if I’d arrived later? What if I had been too late?
Is this what love is? Is this what deep, soul-deep love feels like?
“I don’t know if I can survive this,” I say, breathing in the faint traces of her perfume as I drift off to sleep.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Ashley
“Hey,” I say, falling into Maddox’s arms.
He holds me tight to him as he moves our bodies as one unit and closes the door behind me. His face buries in my hair, and he kisses the top of my head. I nuzzle against his chest and breathe him in. Spiced cherries.
“I feel terrible,” I say.
“For what?”
He untangles us and gently turns my face. He inspects my cheek from every angle. I hold still and let him see that I’m okay.
“Does that hurt?” he asks, his voice gravelly.
“Not really. It burns. My jaw is sore.”
His teeth clench.
After a kiss is placed in the center of the spot that still burns, he takes my hand and leads me to the living room.
“What do you feel terrible about?” he asks again.
“Oh, I don’t know. For you getting arrested last night.”
“That’s not your fault. You know that, right? That’s wholly on that dumb piece of shit you were engaged to.”
“Yeah. I know. I still feel sad that it happened.” I sit next to him on his sofa. “I didn’t sleep at all.”
“Should’ve come over. I was up too.”
His fingers toy with mine in the space between us. It feels good to have him close. But it also feels … askew.
Maybe I’m still in shock. I’ve blocked Eton’s number from my phone and disconnected him from any apps he might be able to access. Has he been tracking me?
The thought came to me last night. It kept me awake. But so did replaying the fight.
Maddox’s face as he used his skills to overpower a man at least two inches taller than him. His ferocity, something I’ve never seen like that, as he pummeled Eton.
He focuses on the little pink ring he got me in the Bahamas. I haven’t taken it off since he put it on my finger. It’s so silly and fun, and when I see it, I smile. He usually does too … but not now.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Just thinking about this ring. That was a fun day.”
“Yeah. It was.”
“It was a hell of a lot easier than it’s been here.”
I swallow. “Yeah. I wonder if it’s because we just jumped into the deep end. You know, we didn’t have time where we felt each other out.”
“Oh, I felt you out.”
I laugh. “You know what I mean.”
He nods. “I do.”
My chest constricts as I watch him fiddle with my ring. He looks no worse for the wear despite his brawl last night. He’s utterly handsome, and I want to climb into his lap.
But I don’t.
I sit where I am and watch him.
“I was coming to Mega Pint to tell you I love you.” He looks up at me, his eyes clear. “I do love you, Ash.”
I smile and bite my lip. This man.
“I love you too.”
My voice is shaky, not confident or elated like it should be.
Maybe I’m not shocked by his declaration because I already knew he loved me. It also could be that we’re both too exhausted this morning to put a lot of energy into it. I don’t know. But this isn’t the way we should be saying I love you for the first time. That I’m sure of.
“I love you so much, so completely, that it … it worries me,” he says, working his neck around his shoulders. “I could’ve killed Eton last night. I don’t even remember the moment. I just remember Banks telling me he hit you.”
I pull my finger out of his grip.
“Do you think … do you think we did this the right way?” he asks. “Did we go all-in too fast? I mean, we didn’t even say we were doing it, but obviously, that’s what happened—for me, anyway.”
A lump settles in my throat, refusing to let anything go around it. I don’t know if I’m still in shock or if I expected this or if the thoughts that have been swirling around my head since last night are the same as what he’s saying.
I don’t want to admit that I understand. No part of me wants to tell him that I lay in bed last night and, on top of replaying the fight, thought about what Rebecca said to me, about how she’s never seen me single.