Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Matthew.” I feel her rub her face along my shirt, probably abrading her smooth skin in the process.
“I’m right here, Letty.” My lips brush against her forehead. She lifts her head, eyes searching for mine.
“All of that, well, it brought everything up, and I need to tell you something. Life’s too short. I, well, I love you.”
“Fuck, Letty, I love you, too. It’s not too soon or too fast. Nobody can dictate how or when you fall in love. When it’s right, it’s right.” She barely lets me get the rest of my words out before her lips are sealed to mine, she’s climbing into my lap, and we end up in bed for the remainder of the morning, only getting up when it’s absolutely necessary.
19
LETTY
“Are you sure they’re going to like me?” I ask Matthew as we’re walking around the back of Jude and Ronnie’s place. It’s the Sunday after speaking to the attorney about my inheritance, and I sat on it for a few days, mulling over what to do and how to do it. In the meantime, Matthew looked everything over and allowed me time to process, as long as it wasn’t in a different house. Which then led me to the next subject I talked to him about earlier today. The girls and I sat down yesterday when I stopped by to grab more clothes. They are piling up at Matthew’s, yet he didn’t seem to mind.
Mischa and Liv had the same thought in mind when it came to the rent increase. While at first, we were all okay with dealing with the three-hundred-dollar monthly hike, now that everyone seems to be doing their own thing on the weekends, it doesn’t make much sense for us to stay together anymore. My stomach sank to my toes, and while I have money put away that I can use for a place of my own, I was really hoping to go part-time at work, focus on school, and use my inheritance as a cushion.
It sucked seeing our group come to a close in the form of living together, even if I’m more of an outsider for trying to keep to myself.
“Kitten, you’ve met Crew, and you’ve met a few of the others as well around town. Plus, I love you, so they’ll love you,” Matthew tries to reassure me. While he’s carrying the platter of macaroni and cheese, I have absolutely nothing to do with my hands, meaning I’ve got my thumb at my mouth, trying to refrain from biting my nail. It’s a horrible habit I’ve developed, one I’m trying to kick, but sometimes, my nerves get the best of me. “If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, we’ll leave. I doubt that will happen, though, as soon as you meet the girls. You’ll see.”
There’s no time like the present. The minute Matthew opens the side gate, we’re bombarded with open arms.
“Hey, Letty, I’m Ronnie. Come with me, and I’ll introduce you to everyone else.” She loops her arm through mine, guiding me through the throng of guys who are near a table, some standing and some sitting. “You can meet the rest of them later. We girls are inside.”
“Oh, okay. It’s nice to meet you. Matthew has talked about his friends for a long time, and Jude has helped out a lot. I’m really thankful, and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to finally meet you all.”
“No apologies necessary. I only met them when I did because they came into the bar I worked at, and even then, it wasn’t all of them. Much like you, we ended up meeting at one of these gatherings, and I’m pretty sure all the other girls did, too. Well, maybe not Lennie, she was the first girl brought into the group, so it wasn’t as big as say you or me meeting them,” Ronnie explains as we enter through the kitchen.
“I can imagine. From what Matthew tells me, everyone is settled down, minus Crew.” I don’t add anything more to the story, even though Matthew has mentioned he thinks a woman is involved at his office, and it’s riling him up.
“For sure. Ahem, ladies, allow me to introduce you to Letty. Letty, from left to right, you have Macie, whose man is Tysen, and she’s clearly pregnant. They work together at Vaughn Air Elite. Then you have Rory, Jude’s sister and my live-in best friend. She’s in high school and is damn smart.” Rory laughs at Ronnie’s remark.
“You’re biased. It’s great to meet you.” Rory comes up, gives me a quick hug, and then returns to where two babies are playing on the floor.
“Hey, Letty, welcome to the chaos.” Macie does the same as Rory.
“From there, you have Lennie, Asher’s wife. Those are her two darling girls, who are enamored with Rory. Kennedy and her daughter Briar, Trent is her husband, with their bun in the oven.” We’re not even all the way through yet.