Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
She tensed.
I pulled back, eyebrows drawn together. “What?”
Maia’s violet eyes searched mine from behind her glasses. “We … we’re getting a place together?”
I grinned. “Aye. We are getting married, My.”
“Right.” She tried to hold back a cheesy smile but failed. She was so fucking adorable.
I cupped the nape of her neck, holding her to me for a proper goodbye kiss. When I had her panting and flushed and looking at me regretfully, like she hated she had to leave for brunch, I finally released her. “We’ll start looking for a place.”
“Okay.” She bounced on her feet to give me another quick kiss and then flashed me a happy smile. “Love you.”
“Love you,” I replied gruffly, my heart in my throat as I watched her walk out.
I missed her already.
This was crazy.
I turned with a big sigh to find my sister grinning in absolute delight.
Not because she was happy for me (though I knew she was that too), but because I was giving her enough material to rip the piss out of me for years to come.
“Did you hear that?” She cocked her head, eyes wide.
I narrowed mine. “Hear what?”
“I think … I think … it sounded like a whip lashing.”
“Fuck off.”
“Or was it your independence dying?”
“Fuck the fuck off.”
“It could have been Maia tugging on your leash.”
“You know, just because we’re blood related doesn’t mean we have to be friends.”
“Maybe it was your balls being crushed by the vise of impending marriage.”
“I officially hate you.”
Ainsley cackled. “Ach, you know I’m secretly happy for you, wee bro.” She crossed her arms on the countertop and leaned into me. “She loves you back.”
I waggled my eyebrows. “I know.”
Ainsley pursed her lips.
“What? Just say it.”
“Okay, so when you started this thing with Maia, I was more worried about her hurting you than you hurting her. But now—”
“Ains—”
“I know I came in this morning and accused you of something you would never do, and I’m sorry. But that doesn’t mean that down the line you might not hurt her. Unintentionally.”
I was irritated by the turn in conversation but tried to be patient with my sister. “People in even the best relationships are going to unintentionally hurt each other. That’s life.”
“The thing is … I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Maia’s like a totally different person around you. I, honestly, used to wonder what you saw in her. Like, I know she’s gorgeous, but I always thought she was kind of aloof. But now I get it. You open her up. She’s warm and sweet and she can be silly with you. You make her feel safe to be herself. And that’s amazing. But she hasn’t completely changed. She’s still the same person who was willing to fake a marriage for her career. And she’s thirty. Doesn’t she want kids soon? Like … be sure you both are on the same page here.”
“Ains, I really appreciate where you’re coming from, but I’m not fifteen anymore. Maia and I have talked about all this, and it’s between us. Just me and her. Okay?”
“So … I don’t get to have a say at all? I tell you everything about my relationships.”
“Aye, too much. There are some things a brother doesn’t want to hear. Or have be heard by his sister,” I said pointedly, glancing up at my bedroom.
“Oh, please, I’ve walked in on you doing worse.”
“Not the point. I love you, Ains. But my relationship with Maia is between me and Maia. No one else.”
My sister searched my face and then weirdly, she smiled. Not the reaction I was expecting.
“What?”
“I’ve just realized that lately … you’re different too. But in a good way. You’re more … mature. More settled in yourself.”
I nodded because she was right. I was.
It was all Maia. She made me want to be a better man. The kind of man she could count on. And part of that meant growing the fuck up.
“You’re both handling the campaign madness well,” Ainsley offered.
“Aye. We’re ignoring it. Seems like the best way to handle it.”
“Well, people are obsessed with you as a couple.”
“Of course they are. We’re the shit.”
“Cocky arsehole.”
I shrugged, grinning unabashedly.
“For your sakes, I hope it dies down after the campaign,” Ainsley said. “It would be a nightmare trying to navigate a marriage with people constantly filming you when you’re out in public. And you being in the Professional League isn’t going to help the publicity go away. It might affect your marriage eventually, if that’s the case.”
“Gee, Ains, did you come over to be a big ray of fucking sunshine or what?” My tone was teasing but worry flickered through me at my sister’s words. However, I couldn’t let those worries sink in too deeply.
I had to believe that the public would grow bored with us and move on to something else because there was no way I wanted either of us to have to deal with that level of scrutiny for too long. I had a feeling Ainsley was right and that eventually, it could impact my and Maia’s relationship.