Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
His future wife is in for a rude awakening; I can only hope that love makes him fall so hard that he never forgets a single moment when it comes to his person.
“Calling her right after we get off the phone, and I’ve only got two minutes left,” he says, like he’s exasperated when it’s me who should be aggravated. Luckily, this is our brother-sister relationship, and I don’t take it to heart.
“Perfect. Good chat. Love you. Call Mom. And text Locke, too, while you’re at it.”
“Don’t push your luck, brat. Love you, too.” He hangs up first. I put my phone on the ground beside me, choosing to sit on the steps instead of the patio furniture that sits beneath the covered porch. I wanted to feel the sun on my face and have my toes in the grass for a little while.
“Everything good, sugar?” I hear Locke’s voice behind me and tip my head over my shoulder to see him standing outside the door, wearing nothing but a pair of black athletic shorts. There are some perks to Locke being unable to wear his usual T-shirts, and this is one of them.
“Never better. Jace is pulling his head out of his ass, and I’m sure he’ll be over before the week is up,” I say proudly, standing up, dusting my shorts off, and heading in Locke’s direction.
“He never could stay mad at you. Then again, not sure I could, either.” His eyes lock on mine, and he smirks at me in that way of his.
“I hope you never will, either.” His hand curls around my waist, I lift my head up as his lowers, and our lips meet. The kiss is soft and sweet, showing me once again his love and adoration for me.
“Not happening. Love you too damn much not to talk out any problem we might have, Jade.”
“I love you, too, Locke. And that’s a promise I can make right along with you.” Our talking stops, his mouth is back on mine, his hard cock is pressed against my abdomen, and I’m well aware of what’s coming next.
19
Jade
“Thanks for getting me out of the house,” I tell Sable after I pick up my cinnamon vanilla iced cold brew. We’re at Oak & Brew and having a little bit of a girls’ morning. Locke is at his doctor’s appointment for a follow-up to check his mobilization and to be cleared to do more than physical therapy. I wanted to go, but then Sable called and said she had a couple of hours before she had a meeting with her future client for a mural.
“You’re welcome. Honestly, you’re doing me a favor as well.” She sips on her iced tea with lemon and lavender, a combination I can honestly say I don’t ever want to try, mainly because I detest the flavor and scent of lavender and I am not a lemon-in-my-tea kind of girl. Honey, yes. Sugar, also yes. Anything else, no thanks.
“Everything okay?” I ask while we wait for our food at the counter.
“Yeah, of course. Busy with work, so busy, in fact, it’s hard to keep my creativity flowing and I feel like I’m stagnant.” I’m not an artist and can’t pretend to know what she’s going through. So, instead of interjecting with my own woe is me, I listen.
“Sable, Jade, come sit with us!” We both practically break our necks when we hear a chorus of voices.
“Go. I’ll wait for our food, then join you,” Sable says.
“Are you sure?” She nods. “We’ll finish this discussion on our way out, okay?” I don’t want her to feel like she’s being pushed to the side for the group calling us over.
“Jade, I’m good. I’ll meander my way over there, and we’ll both enjoy our time with the girls and shoot the shit.” I squeeze her hand, silently relaying a quiet message about needing it, too.
I make my way through the throngs of tables and customers. Some are sitting with their friends gabbing about this and that, a couple are in front of their computers typing away, and there’s even a woman in an oversized chair reading what looks like a regency-era romance. I make a mental note to look up the title and see what it’s all about.
“Hey.” I wave to everyone and take a seat. Lennon, Kennedy, Winnie, Maci, Lyric, and Ronnie are all sitting at the table. The only ones missing are Shae, Lettie, Serena, and Coralynn.
“Hi, this is a surprise. Locke finally let you come up for air,” Ronnie says teasingly.
“More like he said for me to get out of the house before I get on my hands and knees to scrub the baseboards. I don’t know what to do with myself and all this extra time.” I’ve worked a few shifts each week since his accident. I’ll eventually have to let my worries go and get back to my normal schedule, especially since I’m paying for an apartment that I’m not even staying at. Talk about a waste of money. And while Locke and I have spoken those three little words and have shown each other in more ways than one that we mean them, we haven’t discussed our living arrangements yet.