Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
I know it’s going to happen. I don’t know where or how, but somehow all that is wrong in my life will find a way to ruin my present. History has taught me that. I was born cursed. My grandmother told me so constantly. I’ve experienced too much not to believe she was right. The elevator dings before we make it back down to the lobby. Two people are standing, hand in hand, when the door opens.
One is a gorgeous redhead. Her hair is brighter—completely the opposite of mine. She’s laughing while looking up at the man with her. Her eyes are full of happiness and love. That’s not what grabs my attention, though. No, the man beside her, holding her close, is what makes that poisonous snake that stays coiled in my belly strike.
It can’t be him. Can it?
“Andrew?” I ask, quietly, straining to even get the word out. I feel Ford’s arm tighten around me, but I can’t make my gaze pull away from the man in front of me.
“Grace,” he says, his voice gruff, a little different from what I remember, yet definitely Andrew’s. The air in the small, contained space is thick. I think he must be in as much shock as I am. My body jerks against Ford’s protective stance when an alarm rings out around us. Andrew and the woman are standing in front of the doors, not letting them close. They step in, and maybe it’s my imagination, but I think Andrew would rather be shot than get inside. I definitely understand that feeling.
“Ford,” Andrew says. That feeling of something dropping over my head is gone, because here it is. Ford knows Andrew. Proof that I can’t be happy. My past won’t die. It’s always there.
Andrew and the woman continue to face us, their backs to the elevator doors. No one speaks. It’s about as awkward as awkward can get. Ford clears his throat. “We haven’t met. I’m Ford, and this is my woman, Grace,” he says. I feel his chin rest against the top of my head. I’m afraid to breathe, but I don’t miss the stamp of ownership he puts on me. Right now, I’m thankful for it—even knowing this can never work out. Ford and Andrew run in similar circles. He’ll find out I didn’t fit in Andrew’s life. That it was so bad the man completely ghosted me to get rid of me—after I gave him everything I had. That’s bad enough, but you put that with the fact I was married to Benny, and what I let him do to me …
There’s no way Ford will want me in his life once he has all the facts.
“I’m Sloane,” the woman says, and I don’t miss the way Andrew’s hand falls to her hip. It’s a move of his I remember well.
“Are you, well?” I ask, immediately wishing I could bang my head against the elevator wall. How lame of a question is that? My gaze darts to Sloane’s before going back to Andrew. I wish I could take the words back instantly.
“Yeah, um …” he trails off, obviously knowing I was talking to him. “Yes, now.”
I nod, unsure of what to say next. Andrew’s father told me he was a cripple, and that I was lucky to be cut me out of his life. I wanted to slap the man. That would never have mattered to me. I loved him. It’s clear there’s nothing wrong with Andrew, so maybe they were all lying to me. I was probably just a joke to everyone.
“When did you get in, Vector?” Ford asks, using his club name. They definitely know one another. Shit.
“Just now, really,” Andrew answers him, clearing his throat. “Cowboy said he was meeting the other Saint’s Outlaws at the table games, but we haven’t eaten, so we're going to grab dinner.”
“We’ll catch up later then,” Ford replies, and I panic at the thought of having to see either of them again.
Thankfully, the door opens, and they start to leave. I don’t move. I guess Ford understands because he stays with me.
The woman looks over her shoulder at me, delivering words I don’t want. “I hope we’ll get to talk later.”
“Yes,” I murmur with a tight smile, praying the exact opposite.
12
GRACE
Tonight has been hell. Not only did we run into Andrew and Sloane again, but Roman was with them, too. Roman was the last person I pleaded with to have Andrew call me after he ghosted me. It was embarrassing as hell to see him again. It also hurts seeing the three of them laughing and having fun. I don’t know why I feel that way. It’s not like I’m still harboring feelings for Andrew. If anything, I don’t even respect him anymore. I don’t want in his life. I guess just seeing the three of them so happy together is like another sign that Andrew and Roman felt I wasn’t good enough all along.