Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 121887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Oh boy.
“What?” Javi asked.
I lifted my cell and tipped it side to side. “Mom called three times.”
His brows formed an ominous V. “This morning?”
I turned to my phone and back to him. “This morning.”
“It’s barely nine.”
It was.
“On a Sunday,” he continued.
And it was Sunday.
I bit my lip.
“Listen to it,” he ordered.
I went again to my phone.
But I looked back at Javi when he finished, “On speaker.”
I wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
“Javi, this is our special time,” I reminded him.
“Every minute with you is my special time,” he stated, making me blink and making my heart swell so huge, I thought my chest would burst open Alien-style (not that I’d seen Alien, I didn’t do scary movies or scary anything (except vigilantism), but I’d heard about that chest bursting thing). “But she’s gonna have to be dealt with, and when there’s shit to be dealt with that’s probably going to be shit, it’s better to deal with it sooner rather than later.”
I hated that was wise.
But it was.
I activated the phone, went to voicemail, and played the most recent one that had been left an hour and a half ago, which meant well before eight o’clock.
On a Sunday.
My mother’s voice filled the room and just hearing it, something I’d never noticed because it happened so much, something I for sure noticed right then, this being, deep down inside, I felt something deflate.
“I’m sure you’re incredibly busy with all the important business you have to see to in your career as a server…”
Not a good start, I knew, because her words hurt me, and worse, Javi released an infuriated growl that was more than a tad bit terrifying.
“…so I’ve managed to make a booking at Le Amé next Saturday at seven thirty to celebrate your brother’s birthday. They’re aware it’s a special occasion and their pastry chef will be crafting a special dessert for Easton. If you could free up your hectic schedule, it’d be lovely if you could join your family for this celebration. It’d also be lovely if you would deign to contact your mother to confirm your attendance.” She ended this with a stiff, “Have a good day, Harlow.”
I barely swiped out of the voicemail screen when Javi was talking.
Or, more aptly, laying down the law.
“Two choices. First, you call her back and tell her to change that reservation to five people because you’re bringing your man to dinner. Or second, you call her back and tell her she can go fuck herself until she can communicate with her adult child and do it with some fuckin’ respect.”
Mm-hmm.
That infuriated growl meant Javi was infuriated.
“Javi—”
He caught my chin in a firm grip. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely got my full attention.
And when I saw the look in his eyes, even if he had my full attention, I found more attention to give him.
“Those are your two choices, baby. You get me?” he asked quietly and very, very dangerously.
Time to notch Raye and Jessie’s How to Deal with An Alpha tutorial higher up on my schedule.
For the now, I knew my safest bet was to say, “I get you.”
He let my chin go but dipped his to my phone.
“Now?” I asked, and the word came out two octaves higher than my normal voice.
He took a sip of his coffee, his gaze never leaving mine, and after he swallowed, he said low, “Now.”
Oh man.
Again, I went with what I suspected was my safest bet.
I bent to my phone.
And Javi grunted, “Speaker.”
Oh man!
This was invasive, totally.
But he’d asked me if I was ready last night, and we both knew he wasn’t asking if I was ready to take our relationship to the next level, that being a physical one. He couldn’t miss I was ready for that.
He asked if I was ready because we both knew, when we took our relationship to that level, that was it.
Sure, life was life, and anything could happen.
But I had not missed he’d introduced me to the real me last night.
Nor had I missed that I could be the real me because being with Javi made me free to be that me.
Nor had I missed the tone of his voice the night before when he’d said, “I want you so fucking much.”
For him, this wasn’t about living the dream of having the pretty cheerleader bounce on your dick.
For him, this was about living the dream he’d never allowed himself to dream. Full stop.
And for me, it was about doing the same, except I’d never known there was something as wonderful as Javier Montoya to find.
He did not carry me up the stairs like a groom carried his bride because it was most expedient.
He was making a point.
And not only did I not miss his point, I loved and adored the point he made.
Shoot.
I made the call, put it on speaker, and my mom picked up probably on the very last ring before it would have gone to voicemail. And it was not probably that she did this deliberately. I was well-acquainted with this weapon in her arsenal.