Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
“Liar.”
She glared back. “You got naked with my brother. You might as well fess it up because I see it written all over you.”
This girl had no filter or boundaries.
“I did not sleep with him.”
“Kai sweep Siwas and Bwinwey.” The sweet boy patted his chest.
A huff of befuddlement and awkward amusement shot from my mouth.
Elena cracked up then basically whined, “Come on, admit it, Brinley. You’re supposed to tell your best friend everything.”
“We didn’t sleep together,” I reiterated, my voice croaking as I lowered it with emphasis. I don’t know why I was so choked up about it.
Apparently, orgasms given by men who looked like gods and had wicked fingers made you emotional.
That vibrator definitely didn’t hold up.
Elena looked crestfallen. “But something happened,” she insisted. “The man looked like he’d embarked on his life’s mission.”
I wavered.
She must have taken it as confirmation because she jumped off the counter and shouted, “Ah-ha!”
A celebration of victory.
Like she was the one who won the medal when it was undeniably Silas who deserved a gold star.
“I knew it.”
“It wasn’t like that.” I shuffled on my feet.
Meems’s grayed brow ticked higher, so close to becoming one with her hairline. “And what exactly was it like? Because it appeared to me with the way Silas went running out of the house first thing this mornin’, he was every bit as terrified over whatever it was as you.”
My throat felt too tight, nerves firing and getting into a tangle that I wouldn’t be able to undo.
“He’s just seeing to it that I’m cared for while I’m here.”
“Oh, I bet he’s taking care of you,” she drew out.
“No different than I’m sure he does with all the other girls falling all over him around here.”
It was purely a defense.
It wasn’t like I didn’t notice all the women who kept slanting their gazes his way last night. Aiming to garner his attention as he sat at that bar and gruffed and glowered at me like I was the bane of his existence.
No one could blame me for rubbing it in a little bit out there on the dance floor.
He totally deserved it for busting through my reserves.
I guess we’d both been pushed up against a wall. Neither of us left with any restraint.
My chest tightened.
Strike that.
Silas had.
He’d slammed the brakes on the direction I’d been heading before things between us had really gotten out of hand.
Meems laughed an incredulous sound. “You’re talking about the bunnies running around here?”
I shifted Kai around to my other hip, the little boy playing with my hair, taking giant pieces and hiding his face behind them like he was playing his own game of hide and seek.
“Obviously.” I shrugged, nonchalant and like the thought of it didn’t sting.
A dull blade driven right through the middle of my sternum.
Visions flashing of three or four of those women crawling all over him.
Jealousy was such an ugly emotion, and right then, it was crawling all over me.
I finally got myself together enough to walk deeper into the kitchen.
The old lady chuckled low as she cracked an egg into the mixture. “You think whatever is going on between the two of you is no different than the nonsense that goes on over there at that clubhouse?”
“Isn’t it?” I said it like it was no big deal as I wound around Elena so I could get to the cupboard that held the coffee cups.
You know, just making myself at home.
One step closer to that decimated heart.
A total fool because my spirit leapt when Meems shifted to look at me from over her shoulder and said, “Not even close, sweet one.”
In defense, I huffed while ensuring Kai’s limbs were out of reach when I pulled out the carafe and poured a steaming cup of coffee. “And how’s it any different?”
Elena laughed like I was dense. “How is it different?”
“Yeah.”
“The fact he brought you through that door right there means it’s different.” Answering for her, Meems pointed toward the front entrance.
Kai wiggled. “Down.”
I set him onto his feet, then I took a quick sip of my coffee, wincing as the piping hot liquid hit my tongue.
“He only brought me here to keep an eye on me,” I defended.
“Oh, I bet he wants to keep an eye on you. That boy looks like he wants to eat you up every time he glances your way.” Meems hummed with a shake of her head.
My guard slipped, and I gnawed at my bottom lip as I looked at Kai who started pushing his toy motorcycle across the floor at my feet. “There is no future there, if that’s what you two are thinking.”
“And why not?” Elena almost pouted.
I didn’t even want a relationship. Had no need for one. I did just fine by myself, thank you very much.
Except…
Air whispered from my lungs. “I think Silas might be as broken as me.”