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)
My brows are high as the fucking sky in reaction. “That doesn’t make it right.”
She shrugs. “What am I going to do? Fight the world?” Tapping a list on her phone, she adds, “We only need a few more things, and we can get out of here.”
I know she’s fully capable of handling any situation and has her whole life, but it still angers me that she has to put up with that shit. “Yeah, okay.” I push the cart behind her, following a little closer now. Call me territorial.
The cart slams into the back of her legs, and then she bounces on one leg. “Ow, Laird. That hurt.”
“Sorry, you stopped suddenly.”
She comes around next to me, bends down to rub the back of her ankle, and stands up again. “I’m assuming we can keep the leg?”
I’m whacked on the arm again, but it had no power behind it. She was laughing too hard. When she finally catches her breath, she whispers, “I stopped because that chick back there—”
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Language,” I tease, loving every minute of fair play in this jealousy game. I'm glad I’m not alone, but as memory serves, she didn’t love Lori even sniffing around me at Maggie’s. I feel her pain since I almost knocked out the guy in the deli.
She’s still cracking up. “She not only smiled at you, but she said hello. See? It happens all the time to you, too. Probably more since you’re in a band.” A quick roll of her eyes, and she adds, “Why do I have to fall for the bad boy?”
“I’m not even bad anymore. I’m a fucking wuss around you.” Pulling her into a playful headlock, I kiss her head. Then I need to see her eyes and connect my soul to hers again. I release her, rubbing her lower back, and tilt my head to the side. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Her smile this time is worth a thousand guys staring at her because it’s the one they’ll never have. Her love. She hugs me right there in aisle five, not giving a fuck who is staring, which seems to be everyone. “I think you’ve been spotted.”
“That’s the thing. It could be either of us, but more attention than I like off the stage. Anyway, I have a present for you when we get home.”
“Oh yeah? Is it meat related because I think we’re fully stocked.”
“Not fully.”
“Oh geez,” she says, taking the cart and walking away. At least I made her laugh. I’ll make it up to her in other ways when we get back. That’s a promise I intend to keep.
25
Poppy
“He smells amazing, Marina.” I lie back on the lounger and pull my sunglasses down over my eyes. I’ve gotten used to this life at Laird’s for the past three days. Maybe too used to it when I find myself smiling while thinking about him. “I can’t explain it. It’s like he’s from the best dream I’ve ever had. All the pieces and the parts fit together seamlessly, just the way I’d create the perfect man.”
“Do we need perfect?” It’s not a concern but more curiosity I hear on the phone. “Perfect is trouble, from what I’ve learned.” Her laughter is real, light, but appreciated to lift the daze I was drifting into. Laird does that to me. Dazzles me with his blue eyes and those hands that seem to hold my fate in their palms.
“I don’t need or want perfect. He just feels . . .” A warmth balloons in my chest, my heart suddenly feeling too big for my body when I think of him. “He has flaws, his own real-life stresses, worries, and dreams, but he feels perfect for me.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been gone, what? A week? And when I finally hear from you again, I get a story about bears and broken-down cars, but mostly in that time, you’re in love and ready to take the next steps with a man you just met. You’ve always been spontaneous, but—”
“We had some wild adventures in high school.” I laugh to myself, but she’s in on the inside joke. “To say I’m surprised we survived college is an understatement. Well, me more than you.”
“But look how far we’ve come. Hey, I’m not judging you for the spontaneity. I’m not even judging you for falling for someone so quickly. My heart knew Cash was the one for me. It just took me a while to see it for myself.”
I love her love story. They survived their own obstacles. I’m not blind to the realities of what Laird and I will face. I ask, “What are you judging me for then?”
“It needs to be more than raw attraction that pulls you guys together. It’s great at first, but there must be substance beneath the surface. You deserve wonderful, kind, treats you like a—”