Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
As if my silence said it all, she turned on a toe and trotted up the stairs.
On instinct, I followed her, without the first clue of what to do or say.
She shoved open the front door, walking straight through the living room with her head down, snagged a bottle of wine off the kitchen counter by the neck, and then disappeared down the hall. The bedroom door closed behind her with a quiet click and therefore significantly more deadly than a slam.
Every head in the room turned toward me.
Jude. Rhion. Lark. Mira. Leo. Sarah. Johnson. Alex. Brianna. Apollo.
Ten people standing in silence like they’d all silently agreed not to be the first one to speak.
Well, make that nine.
Leo crossed the room in four strides. “Outside. Now.”
“No.” I shook my head, planting my feet. The fabric of my life, and who I thought I was as man, had just been ripped out from under me. I was done having conversations in corners. Done with the secrets. Just… done. “I fell in love with her,” I said, not aiming it at anyone in particular. “I’m not going to apologize for it either. She’s into me too—or at least she was until she found out about Levee tonight. Now she thinks I’m some asshole repeating history while filling up a bingo card.” I gripped the back of my neck, not able to squeeze hard enough to alleviate the pain behind my sternum. “That’s where we’re at.” I looked at Leo. “So if you’re gonna fire me, just do it already.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody looked particularly surprised either.
Lark cleared his throat. “We’ve known that you two were at the bare minimum sleeping together.”
“For a while,” Alex confirmed.
“Even before the bra,” Johnson said.
I stared at him. “The what?”
Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Her bra landed on one of the bedroom cameras few weeks ago, blocking it. The Guardian office lit up with alarms, so we turned on the audio and heard enough to read the situation.”
“And be scarred for life,” Jude added.
I sliced my gaze to Apollo.
He raised both hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me like that. I acted with discretion and immediately cut the audio…after a few minutes.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic. And nobody thought to tell me?”
“Why the hell would I tell you anything?” Leo rumbled. “I’d already warned you about blurring lines. Did everything short of skywriting it. But you’re right. We’re here now.” He jerked his chin down the hall. “The part I’m most concerned about is the fact that she’s in there.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck. Maybe it is a pattern.”
His brows shot up. “Come again?”
“She thinks it’s a pattern. Me falling for the woman I’m protecting. But that’s not it. The pattern is me screwing up and screwing myself over in the process. The first time damn near cost me my career, but I’m fucking terrified that this time it’s going to cost me her.”
Leo let out a long breath. “What are you going to do about it?”
My mind drifted back to her dad sitting on that overturned crate, his mind longing for the woman who was completely out of his reach.
You’re gonna screw up, you’re gonna argue, you’re gonna apologize, and then you’re gonna make up. It’s the circle of love. As long as you don’t do anything you can’t take back, don’t call her names she can’t forget, and you spend every day trying to make sure you’re making her life as good as she’s making yours, you’ll be fine.
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “But it’s Lofton. So, no matter what, I’m gonna hold on with both hands.”
He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. “Good, because you are absolutely fired.”
I shot him a scowl. “Really, you’re gonna do this now? You couldn’t wait until maybe I’m not on my knees anymore.”
He scoffed, then flicked a knowing smile to his wife, Sarah. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. A woman brings you to your knees, you don’t ever get up. You won’t even want to.”
I blew out a ragged breath. Yeah. That tracked.
Perfect. So now all I had to do was win back Hollywood’s hottest movie star… as an unemployed bodyguard… who she currently thought was a lying, emotionally stunted asshole.
No problem. Piece of cake.
Fuck. My. Life.
Alex cleared his throat from across the room. “So, is this like a everybody-needs-to-leave crisis, or are we still allowed to eat? Because it smells incredible and I’m starving.”
“Yeah. Please. Eat.” I waved a hand without looking at any of them. “She’d be pissed if you didn’t. I can’t afford to mess up again tonight.”
The women hesitated, exchanging glances, but the guys didn’t waste another second before filing into the dining room, stomachs overriding manners.
I didn’t move.
I just stood there, staring at the door she’d disappeared through.