Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Beautiful,” I repeated again.
Too beautiful.
It was so much.
With every new corner, every opulent piece of stone or marble or lacquered wood, I felt something building in my chest. Something pressing down like it was crowding out my soul, or something.
Like I was becoming insignificant.
My throat tightened and I sat down in one of the tall bay windows, facing inside.
“Let me guess,” Draven said, stepping over. “You’re thinking it’s beautiful?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” I said. “And I’ve never felt so far away from home.”
I was surprised to see a look of pure sympathy in his eyes. Or maybe, it was true empathy. This was Draven’s home, but had he ever been able to truly settle, here? Even if he loved his land, his house, his horses, this place was tinged with pain.
He took off his cowboy hat, resting it on a bench in front of his bed.
“You’ve never been so far away from home,” he said, coming to sit next to me. He exhaled, letting out a long breath.
The weight of it was on him, too.
“I don’t know if I can do it,” I told him.
Everything in my chest felt tight. All night, I’d been pulled in so many different directions, and now suddenly, I was here, like an alien in a beautiful world.
“Travel isn’t easy on anyone, babe. I recommend ten minutes in my sauna, and then quickly crashing to sleep in my bed.”
“No,” I said, more forcefully than I’d expected. I sat forward, putting my elbows on my knees and leaning over. “I don’t think I can do any of it. I… I think the whole fucking Cocktail Bro page was a mistake.”
“Max.”
“What has it brought me other than trouble?” I said. “If it weren’t for that, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have online stalkers who I can’t tell if they’re just normal-creepy or dangerous-creepy.”
“No amount of creepy is ‘normal,’ sweetheart—”
“I wouldn’t have to change everything about my life,” I said, my voice wavering as it got louder. “The stupid security cameras. You, always being inconvenienced, following me around or worrying about my safety. Life was easier when I just lived in a small town and stayed in that small town, working and going home. Why wasn’t that enough? Why did everything have to change?”
He put a hand on my back, running his palm up and down my spine. “You’re so tired. You really do need sleep.”
“The most complicated thing I used to think about was how to be the best bartender at the Hard Spot. That’s simple. Easy. One bar, local customers. I used to always joke about there being a ghost cat there, because it was the only intrigue I had during most weeks. But there was never any little ghost cat haunting the bar. I was… reaching. Making stories where there weren’t any.”
“I think there are plenty of stories at the Hard Spot.”
I let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back on the thick glass windows behind me. “Well, I don’t need any more, now. I just want things to slow down. All the change can just fucking take a pause, please and thank you.”
“You want to know something?” Draven asked.
I turned to look at him, a fresh anger hitting my veins.
He looked so fucking good, and I just wanted to kiss him.
“Yes. I want to know something,” I told him.
“Dominic has a young daughter.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
Draven nodded. “You won’t hear him talk about it much, but yes.”
“A daughter,” I said.
“A handful of years ago, his whole life changed forever, too. He doesn’t get to see her as much as he’d like, right now, but he’s endlessly working on how to fix it. The baby was a surprise to him and his girlfriend at the time, and their relationship ended pretty soon after.”
“Would Dominic be okay with you telling me all of this?”
“Absolutely. Dom was adopted by another wealthy family in this area. He was on a certain track in life, but everything seemed to come to a halt when he had his daughter. He didn’t want change, either. He was terrified.”
“I can’t picture him terrified,” I said. “He’s kind of like you.”
The corner of Draven’s mouth came up in a slight smile. “Like me?”
“You two are like two marble statues in human form. You seem impervious to emotions, other than desire or confidence or power.”
“Power isn’t an emotion.”
“Sure seemed like it was when you fucked my mouth for the first time,” I muttered.
He rested his palm on my thigh now, squeezing me there.
“The point is that Dom struggled with change for over a year. And then something just switched inside him. He realized that change wasn’t going anywhere. And he was going to ride it like a wave rather than drowning under the current.”
I sighed, rubbing at my eyes. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near surfing it like a wave. I don’t know if that’s possible for me.”