Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Your body and your brain have been through a lot. You don’t need to conquer the world in one day.”
Swinging the door open, she turns back to me with the biggest grin splitting her cheeks. “I’ve lost too much time. Let’s go make up for it.”
I have a feeling I’m not going to be able to convince her otherwise, so I might as well go along for the journey. I get up and grab the door above her head to hold it open. “So what’s first?”
I almost run into the back of her when she stops suddenly in the middle of the hallway. Glancing back at me, she says, “Your mom is here for you.”
“No, I’ve already seen her. She’s here for you.”
The magnitude hits her expression quick, and tears flood her eyes. “For me? Really?”
“Yes. For you.” I pluck the side of her dress and add, “She wanted to stay to make sure you were okay.” While tears roll down her cheeks, she turns back to my mom, and then walks into her open arms and cries on her shoulder.
We all just want to know we’re loved. If her family won’t do it, mine will step up to do the job because I already know I’m going to marry her one day.
Once my mom is satisfied with the health update and has left, and Poppy is beaming with happiness, she presses her hands to my chest. I can tell by the look in her eyes, she is definitely up to no good. She asks, “You up for an adventure, lover?”
I slide my hands around her waist and pull her to me. I will never tire of adventures with her. “With you? Always.”
Five weeks later . . .
“No to the hat. It’s summer. You don’t need a wool beanie on.”
The huff is heard across the room. “But it’s my Faris Wheel official tour hat?”
“I know.” I take another look up from my phone. As cute as she is in it, it’s firsthand embarrassing for me. “I remember giving it to you, but it was October in Austin, not June.”
“Yes, but we’re in California, not Texas.”
I kick my feet onto the coffee table, figuring we’ll be here all day at this rate. “Southern California. My vote is no.” As soon as I say it, I know I’m losing this battle.
“So we’re voting? My vote is yes then.” She walks as proud as a peacock to the counter to grab her bag. “It also covers the scars on my forehead.”
I won’t lie to protect her. It’s the one thing she asked me not to do anymore. Instead, I tell her the truth from the start, “The scars are part of who you are. You look beautiful.”
“Aw, babe. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Veering back on the course she’s determined to travel, she picks up where she left off. “Anyway, it makes as much sense wearing this as it does our choice in tattoos.”
I slide my hand under my shirt and rub over it. It’s not raised. I just like it there. Which is why I take offense. “What does that mean?”
“I know our tattoo doesn’t symbolize the brokenhearted, so remind me why we chose the star and yellow rose design again?”
Pushing off the couch, I reply, “We were drunk in Texas, baby. I chose it for the Lone Star State, and you chose it for the state flower.” I kiss her and then straighten that ugly-ass hat on my beautiful girlfriend.
“I’m positive I didn’t know that was the state flower. I’m a New Yorker, after all.”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” I open the door for her.
Despite the origins of the design, I see her tap the art twice on the outside of her leggings. She once said it was her good luck charm because it brought us back together against the odds.
I just think it’s sexy as fuck on her. I grab the card I woke up early to fill out. It took me longer than I thought it would to say the things I thought needed to be in there. I think I covered everything. “Ready?”
“Dreading it.”
Me too.
“This is sad.”
I grin and dip down to kiss her neck once more. “Saddest day ever.” It doesn’t rank up there in the scheme of the hell we’ve been through, but I still hate leaving her. And knowing I won’t see her for days isn’t helping me with my mood.
“I’ll see you in Phoenix, though.”
Holding her face in my hands, I stare at the flecks of colors in her eyes. The greens that always held her innocence, the browns that blurred the lines. The gold that gave me hope that we would survive anything thrown our way. She’s an angel brought to save me, and I will never take that for granted. “Ninety-four hours.”
“You’re counting the hours?”