Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
"I know that," she protests softly.
"She's learning," I say when Colton gives her a 'don't bullshit me' look.
He glances at me, his expression level, and then nods. "Good. The most important thing you'll ever do as her husband is keep her grounded while still leaving her room to fly. She's going to want to run full speed ahead and do everything herself. You have to learn to let her, and you have to learn when to be her soft place to land. She wasn't born for her feet to stay on the ground."
"Dad," she whispers from my side, adoration all over her face.
"I mean it, Clo. You were meant to fly. But you're stubborn and independent, and you think you can conquer the world on your own. You need someone like Trystan looking out for you. He understands how precious you are. Don't fight him too much on it."
"Oh, she's going to fight," I mutter, taking a sip of beer. "She'll probably threaten to murder me every damn day for the next sixty years, too."
She blanches at me, but everyone else laughs because they know I'm right. Chloe hates being told what to do. She hates being slowed down. She wants everything her way and gets mad as hell when it isn't. But that's all right. It's part of what I love so fucking much about her.
She's full of life and fire and fight, and it's the most beautiful goddamn thing in the world. It always has been.
"Maybe I'll fight just because you said that," she grumbles.
I chuckle, leaning over to brush my lips across her temple. "Fight all you want, princess. So long as you're wearing my ring, I don't give a fuck."
She grins at me like I'm the only thing she sees, and I feel like the king of the fucking world.
The table settles into silence as everyone goes back to eating, but it doesn't last long. When I drain my beer and stand to get another, Aunt Cadence and Ma are trying to talk Chloe into a big wedding. Pops and Uncle Colton are talking about fishing.
"Be right back," I murmur when Chloe glances up at me.
She just smiles in response.
I'm halfway to the kitchen when I hear the doorbell ring.
"I've got it!" I call back to the dining room, reversing course to head that way. My brows furrow when I see a middle-aged guy on the other side of the door. He's bulky, his suit wrinkled. He keeps running his hands through his gray hair like he's nervous. Something about him is vaguely familiar, but I don't put two and two together until I pull the door open and see the purple bruise across his jaw.
Motherfucker.
Rage immediately shoots through me, but I try like hell to keep it in check.
He seems surprised to see me, like I wasn't who he expected. Sucks for him. "Uh, I'm here to see Chloe," he says.
"And who are you?" I block the entrance, refusing to let him look past me. I don't know why the fuck he's here, but there isn't a chance in hell that he's getting near my girl.
"Is she here or not?"
"Not your business until you tell me your fucking name."
I already know it, but I want to hear him say it anyway.
"Donny. I'm her boss."
"Wrong answer, you prick," I growl, reaching out to wrap my hand around his tie. I yank him into me, bringing my knee up at the same time.
He yowls like a bitch when it connects with his balls.
"You were warned to stay the fuck away from her," I growl, pressing him up against the side of the house with my hand still wrapped up in his tie. He struggles to break free, but he isn't going anywhere until I decide to let him. "You should have listened."
"I just want to talk to her," he says, his voice high-pitched and desperate.
"Fuck no."
"Son of a bitch," Colton growls from somewhere behind me before he and Pops are suddenly at my side, bristling and snarling at Donny like they're ready to commit murder, too. "I told you to stay the fuck away from my daughter, motherfucker."
"I just want to talk to her!" he shouts, desperation in his voice.
"I already told you no." I jerk him away from the wall and then slam him into it again. "You aren't getting anywhere near my fiancée, not if you want to keep breathing."
"F-fiancée?" He gapes at me like I'm speaking a foreign language.
"Yeah, fiancée," I repeat. "Meaning she's mine. She's always been mine. She'll always be mine. And the only reason that you're still breathing right now is because I'm not going to let a predatory prick like you take me away from her."
"I just want…"
"Nothing," Colton snaps at him. "You want nothing, Donny. You have nothing. You are nothing. And hell will freeze over before I let you near my daughter."