Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Because if that door were closed, I would absolutely be begging Blue to slide his hand up my skirt right now.
That’s where I am. Five months of hurt and rage banished by a single kiss.
What a weakling.
I should push him away, hold the line, stand my ground.
Instead, I’m a hot second from telling him to shut the damn door when he pulls back, breathing hard. “I texted you, Bea,” he whispers, gaze locked on mine. “Every day for a while, then every week. I never stopped. I can prove it.” He tugs his phone from his pocket, unlocking it and scrolling to his sent messages. “See?”
He shifts his cell. I read my name, clear as day, at the top of the screen as he thumbs through a seemingly endless stream of green bubbles.
Message after message after message…
All to me.
But how?
“I… Why didn’t I get them? I had to get a new phone because I forgot mine the morning I left, but once I transferred the eSIM over, it worked just fine.” I shake my head, my mind reeling. “I didn’t block you, I swear I didn’t, and I was still getting messages from all my other…”
I drift off, stomach bottoming out as I remember how much trouble Charlotte had reaching me at first.
I had to approve a different setting somewhere to receive her messages. We figured out I wasn’t getting her texts during a family check-in call a few weeks after I left and had to troubleshoot the connection. For a while afterward, I hoped that might have something to do with why I hadn’t heard from Archer. But the setting changes only resulted in new messages from Charlotte, not the man I was dying to talk to.
But Blue was trying to make contact the entire time.
He’s scrolling too fast for me to read much of what he wrote, but it’s obvious he was trying to make amends, and that he kept trying, long after he must have assumed I didn’t give a shit. That I was the heartless jerk who had moved on from our friendship without a backward glance.
The messages blur as tears fill my eyes.
“I don’t know what happened,” I whisper. “I never got them. I swear, I… I thought you were glad I was gone.” My voice cracks as I add, “I’m sorry.”
He brushes a thumb across my cheek. “You don’t have to apologize. I should have tried harder. I should have gone to Scotland and sat outside your house until you were in the mood to talk. I’ve known you were on the Isle of Arran for a while. Nix let it slip during training camp. He doesn’t know that I… That we…” He sighs. “He doesn’t know anything. That also became pretty obvious.”
I sniff, the reminder that I still have to deal with telling my brother that I’m pregnant, helping me pull myself together. I have a lot on my plate right now, and not a lot of time before Charlotte gets here and sees the big reveal for herself.
Though if Blue saw me on the news…
I groan. “Shit. Charlotte and Baylor probably know about the baby now, though,” I say, grateful for an excuse to change the subject. “They didn’t say anything on the phone, but if there’s footage of me at the crash site on television or online, I’m sure they’ve seen it. They must be so hurt. And confused.”
“Nix’s on the ice right now,” Blue says, still cupping my face. “And Charlotte’s driving from Mobile, right?” I nod, and he adds, “Then you probably have some time. Want me to help you figure out the best way to explain it?”
Our eyes meet, hold, and for a moment I’m so tempted…
But I can’t lean on Blue. Not yet. Not until I have him forward all those messages and figure out where he’s coming from. What he wants.
What I want in light of what he wants.
I shake my head, pulling back until his hand falls from my cheek. “No, that’s okay. Thank you, but it’s something I should handle on my own. They’re my family.” I pull in a breath, adding in a firmer voice, “I’m not ready to tell Bay about your part in this, okay? Not even close.”
Blue nods. “Okay. Then I’ll just focus on being of service. After I get you home, I’ll swing by my place and pack a bag.”
I blink. “Pack a bag?”
“I’m coming to stay with you,” he says as if this is something we’ve already discussed and has been decided. “Don’t worry, I won’t intrude. I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll just be there to help, not pressure you, or—”
“Wait, hold up a second.” I lift my hands into the air with a laugh. “What are you talking about?” I study his expression, waiting for him to explain the joke.