Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Okay! And you’ll answer anything?”
“Yes.”
“Start the timer.”
He did, and I dived right in.
“Why did she leave you?”
“She was pregnant by another man.”
My jaw dropped. Oh gosh. I couldn’t even imagine how hard that had been. “Did you still love her?”
“Yes. Sadly, love doesn’t just dissipate. Even when you wished it had. If it did, I would’ve left when I found out she was cheating a year before the pregnancy began.”
“Wait, you found out she cheated on you, and you stayed?”
“I found out after we learned about her cancer. I wasn’t going to leave her after that. Especially when it was clear that the other guy wasn’t going to step up to take care of her.”
“But…she betrayed you.”
“Yes.”
“And you stayed?”
“Yes.”
“Kai…”
“What kind of man would I be?” he asked. “If I walked out on my ill wife?”
“Even with what she had done to you?”
He paused. His brows lowered, and he shrugged his shoulders. “I said for better or for worse on our wedding day. I didn’t think it fair to ignore the ‘for worse’ part.”
It was at that moment I completely fell for Kai Kane.
My heart pounded as I tilted my head and stared at the man I was just now beginning to truly see. He was opening up his book for me, the pages that were hard to read. That felt like the greatest Christmas gift I could’ve ever received.
“Kai?”
“Yes?”
I hugged my pillow against my chest and whispered, “You’re the kind of man I’d put at the top of my Christmas list.”
He turned my way, and half grinned. “If you want, I’d put a bow on my head come Christmas morning.”
Please do.
“How do you feel about the divorce paperwork?” I asked.
“Free,” he said without thought. “I feel as if I’m almost free. I wanted it for a long time, but I couldn’t track her down. She threw me off when she randomly appeared, but I can’t wait for that chapter to end.”
“And you—” The timer went off before I could finish my question.
Kai smiled and hit it off. “It’s almost one in the morning, and we have a busy day based on your mother’s schedule.”
I would’ve killed for five more minutes.
I lay down, facing Kai, as I still hugged my pillow. “Kai?”
“Sleep, Holly,” he muttered.
“Okay, yeah, I will. Just one more question.”
“The timer is up.”
“I know, but….”
He sighed and opened his eyes to look at me. “One more question.”
“Is your heart okay?”
He paused for a moment. His eyes grew gentle as he parted his mouth. “It is tonight. I’m in good company.” A tiny, almost unnoticeable grin fell against his lips. “Good night, Holly.”
I smiled. “Good night.”
He fell asleep and began to snore.
I thought I’d hate sharing a bed with a man who snored because I was a light sleeper, but that night I didn’t mind as much since it was Kai’s snores.
Kai Kane.
Butterflies, snoring, and Kai Kane.
It was almost four in the morning.
I was wrong.
I was dead wrong.
I did, indeed, hate sharing a bed with a man who snored.
The butterflies from earlier fluttered away, and left only deep, grunted sounds of what I would assume Big Foot snores would mimic.
I wrapped my head with my pillow, pushing the palms of my hands against my ears, trying my best to drown out the grizzly bear’s groans.
I nudged him in the side, hoping the snoring would be interrupted by his movement, but when he flipped to face toward me, somehow the sounds worsened, with Kai adding in the sweet melody of a nose whistle between each dramatic inhale. Since he was now facing me, his hot breath hit my face as he breathed out of his mouth.
Gross.
I grabbed my pillow and the spare blanket on the chair and hurried into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I climbed into the bathtub and made myself as comfy as possible as I shut my eyes for a few hours of sleep.
KAI
I woke up in an emptied bed, feeling well-rested. My hair was wild, and I knew it was time to hop in the shower when I smelled my morning breath. I headed to my suitcase, pulled out my outfit for the day, and then headed into the bathroom.
I set my clothes down on the counter and then undressed. I reached my hand behind the shower curtain to crank on the water, and the moment I did, a huge scream shot from the tub.
“What are you doing?!” Holly screeched, leaping up to her feet, soaked.
I quickly shut off the water and pulled the shower curtain completely back. “What am I doing? What are you doing?” I asked, baffled. “Why are you sleeping in a tub?”
She wiped the water from her eyes. “Because you snore like a grandpa.”
“Grandpa, as in a cat?”
“No, a grandpa, like an old man in his nineties.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “Oh my gosh, you’re naked!”