Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Her brows furrow more, her mouth turning down in a frown. “I bet you were pissed.”
I shake my head sadly. “No, I was devastated.”
Audrina’s breath catches. “What?” she gasps, wrapping her arms around her middle as she gazes up at me.
“If I had known giving you time to cool down really gave you time to leave, I would have chased you down the moment you walked away.”
She blinks, her lips parting. “But you were so mad. Why would you chase me?”
How does she not realize this? “To apologize,” I admit, heat rising up my neck. “I kept telling myself to stop, to step back, but I was fucking fuming and couldn’t get a grasp on my feelings. I kept coming at you, and once you walked away, I was left drowning in my guilt.”
Her eyes are so wide. “Thatcher, that doesn’t make sense to me.”
I swallow thickly, but I don’t look away. My jaw is tight, my heart kicking up to speeds I hadn’t realized it could beat. “What’s not to understand?” I ask, not sure what she is confused about.
“You talked to me like I was the shit on your shoes,” she accuses. “But you felt bad?”
I shake my head, cupping the back of my neck. With my other hand, I pull my hat down low, exhaling. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. It just exploded in my face, and all I saw was the girl I wanted, with one of my teammates. I thought I was over what happened with Dart, but I wasn’t. Everything came crashing down on me, and I felt like I wasn’t enough for you. Like you’d always be distracted by my teammates.”
Her eyes darken as she tightens her arms around her waist. “That wasn’t the case at all, Thatcher.” She turns her body toward mine, yet her arms stay wrapped around her middle like a shield. “Why would you feel that way? I never led you to believe I wanted anyone but you.”
“When did you make me feel like you wanted me?” I ask, incredulous. “We danced around each other for years. In a relationship without sex. The only reason I knew you wanted me was when you played that damn song.”
Her eyes widen. “So, you knew.”
“Fuck yeah, I knew, and I jumped at the chance to kiss you.”
She seems so surprised, and I don’t fucking understand that. “You did?”
“Yes, dushen’ka. There isn’t a moment I don’t want to kiss you,” I admit, my voice gruff and low. “Audrina, I—”
“Synok?” I hear my mom call out her term of endearment for me, which means son in Russian. My stomach drops and I almost yell the words I want to say, but this isn’t the time. Audrina still looks so out of sorts. She needs to get through this. I need to get her settled, and then I’ll try again. Before I can tell her that, though, my mom’s voice is closer. “I didn’t know you had arrived—”
I don’t have to look up to know she has entered the room or that her eyes have settled on Audrina. I hear Mom’s sharp intake of breath, but I ignore it. Unable to stop myself, I reach out for Audrina’s forearm, squeezing it lightly. Her eyes are watery, and I’m surprised she hasn’t let her tears fall yet. “This is going to go great. I’m here.”
She can’t even acknowledge me before my mom falls to her knees in her crisp black Gucci dress. In perfect dramatics that only a Russian printsessa can perform, my mother reaches for Audrina, tears falling down her cheeks as she bellows at the top of her lungs, “Audrina! Oh my God. It’s you? Sweet God, you’ve brought her home.”
I glance back at Audrina to find her still looking at me, her jaw slack, and finally, tears spill over. God, she’s perfection. I hear shuffling, a scream or two, but all I can do is continue to look at her. I flick up my hat so she can see my eyes, and then I flash her a wide smile. “Welcome home.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ithought Maeve was being over the top, but my mom is never outdone.
She fainted.
Like full-out, Scarlett O’Hara, hand to her temple, fainted.
All she was missing was being at the top of the stairs so she could roll down.
God, I’ve missed her dramatics.
I didn’t even get a good look at her, or even get my arms around her, before she collapsed to the floor. I hope she isn’t faking it, because my dad sure does step right over her to wrap me up in his arms, his tears wetting my face as he holds me tightly to his wide, barrel chest. His cologne relaxes me as I nuzzle my face into him. He’s still bigger than life, but I doubt even more three years have changed that much of him. He grasps my face, meeting my gaze, and my heart clenches in my chest. Unlike my hazel eyes and strawberry-blond hair, my dad has blond hair and light green eyes. His face has sharp features, a very prominent nose, while mine is quaint. Tears fall from his eyes, and I clutch his wrists.