Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
"Fine. I'll read it, but I don't like it."
I can't fight my smile this time. Dios, I love her and her grumpy little attitude.
She settles on my lap and reads through the agreement. It doesn't take her long at all. "This doesn't seem very fair to you," she mutters when she's done, eyeing me suspiciously. "It says if I divorce you, I can take half of your stuff and keep everything that's mine."
"Little bunny, if you divorce me, you might as well take everything because losing you will fucking kill me," I tell her, dead serious. I've been trying for weeks to figure out what I'll do if she leaves me, but the answer is simple. There's no way in hell I'll survive if she decides to leave me. It will rip my heart out of my chest. But if it's what she wants…I'll let her go. I'll give her anything she wants because she comes first to me. She has since the moment I met her. That won't ever change.
"I'll never want to divorce you," she says like it's a warning.
"Good, because I'll never want you to divorce me. I'm yours forever."
She leans forward and gives me a sweet little kiss. "I'll sign your stupid agreement if it makes you happy, Octavio. But you should know that I don't want to sign it. And I don't care about money. I just want you. I love you."
"I love you too, Faith. So goddamn much it should scare me."
"Does it?"
"Not even a little bit," I whisper against her lips.
She smiles against mine and then deepens the kiss. We stay just like that until the doorbell rings. Faith jumps, her hand going to her heart.
"It's okay," I soothe her, picking her up and then climbing to my feet. I set her in my spot before striding to the door to look out. Roman, Finn, Mila, and some guy I don't know are on the front porch. I disarm the security system and unlock the door, letting them in.
Mila goes straight to Faith, plopping down beside her and then wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I've been worried about you," she says, laying her head against Faith's.
"I'm okay," Faith promises, though she's eyeing the guy with Finn and Roman oddly. He's older, with graying hair and kind blue eyes that are more than a little sad. He's dressed in an expensive suit.
"Octavio, Faith, this is Jordan Hamby," Finn says. "He was a friend of your father's."
"You mean–?" Faith whispers.
Roman nods, his expression soft. "Your father was Theodore Jackson, little one. Octavio was right."
Faith's face pales. Her hands tremble in her lap. She glances from Roman to me and then to Hamby.
"Faith," he says, taking a step in her direction.
I hold out an arm, halting him in his tracks. He rears back like he's only just noticed me standing there. I think maybe he has just noticed me. His eyes have been on Faith since he stepped through the front door. He's watching her like he's seen a ghost.
"She doesn't like to be crowded," I mutter to him.
He nods, his gaze drifting from me to her again.
She's staring at him, her face scrunched up. "Uncle Jordy?" she whispers.
A smile overtakes his face. "You remember me?"
"I…" Faith frowns, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead like her head hurts. "I think so." She licks her lips, staring at him. "You used to bring me books." Her frown deepens, distress in her gaze. "You came to see me after my dad died."
I immediately cross to her and pull her into my arms, lending her my strength. Finn and Roman step closer to her too. Roman reaches for Mila's hand.
"I… My mom said you died," Faith whispers, her voice rough.
Anger floats through Hamby's expression. "I always wondered what Carmen told you about me," he mutters, scowling. "I visited you as often as she would let me until she refused to let me see you anymore." His expression crumbles. "Had I known what she was doing to you, I never would have let her keep you. She wanted the damn money."
"She knew about the money?"
Hamby nods. "I think she took you in believing that it would go to her as your caretaker. But Theo wasn't stupid, and he didn't trust her. He appointed me to oversee your trust should anything happen to him. Carmen quickly realized she would never get her hands on your father's money. She stopped letting me see you. I tried to track you down over the years, but she moved from place to place, making it extremely difficult to keep up with you. When you both disappeared after your sixteenth birthday, I hired a PI. He tracked her down in Canada, but he couldn't find you anywhere." His expression is grim, full of pain. "I feared she'd killed you. I never suspected…" He shakes his head. "I would have moved heaven and hell to get you back had I known, Faith."