Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Would you like me to drive you home?” he asked seriously, his voice low.
“Oh.” I floundered for a moment. “No. No, thank you. Beau can drive me.”
“All right.”
The brothers called out their goodbyes as Beau ushered me into the garage. The moment we were alone, I let out a breath of relief.
I didn’t need to pretend anymore. I didn’t need to put on a happy face or act like I was okay or tell jokes or hide the wobble in my voice.
“I’ve got it,” I bit out as Beau reached for my door.
“Of course you do,” he mumbled under his breath, walking back to his side of the car.
I counted to ten before opening my door and getting into my seat.
I must’ve done something right in a former life because the ride back to my apartment was blissfully silent, and I was able to process everything that had happened.
It took me that long to realize that what I was feeling wasn’t sadness. I didn’t feel bad because Beau didn’t like me. I didn’t wonder what I could do differently or how I could change into a person that he would appreciate. I was already pretty fucking great.
My hands shook, and my breath seesawed in my lungs, not because I was embarrassed or upset. It was because I was fucking terrified that one impulsive decision had forever tied me to an asshole who couldn’t stand me.
The moment Beau pulled into a parking space, I whipped off my seat belt. The car wasn’t even parked before I shoved out of my door and hurried toward the stairs. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. I ignored the heat that burned in my chest and down my arms as I got farther away. The fire was preferable to staying in his presence for one more minute.
Unfortunately, he caught up with me before I was even able to unlock my front door.
“You can’t come in,” I said, spinning to face him as soon as I had it open.
“Give it a rest,” he said tiredly, reaching up to rub his eyes with his fingertips. “You know that’s not going to go well. It’s already fucking building again. If I can feel it, I know you can.”
“I don’t care.”
“Right,” he replied sarcastically. He waved his hand at me like he was shooing me into the apartment. “Come on.”
“You’re not coming in,” I repeated, standing my ground.
“Stop fucking around,” he said shortly.
“Go home, Beau,” I ordered, lifting my chin. “I’ll call you.”
It was supremely satisfying to slam the door in his face, even if the aftermath felt like I was burning alive.
Chapter 6
Beau
Tightening my fingers around the steering wheel, I stared at Reese’s front door. I’d been sitting outside for two hours, and she still hadn’t come outside again. The fire in my veins had begun before she’d slammed the door in my face, but the nausea hadn’t started until about fifteen minutes earlier. It was fucking miserable. Every molecule in my body was urging me toward her.
I hadn’t even been able to drive away. The thought of moving any further from her was abhorrent.
Taking her back to the house had been a mistake. It was inevitable that she would know them eventually, but I shouldn’t have put us in that position until we’d had a bit longer to get used to each other. She made me want to put my head through a wall, and that was before she’d made a fool of herself at dinner.
I just couldn’t get over the fact that the entire thing, meeting my parents, getting to know each other, cementing the bond—all of it should’ve been different. She should’ve been different. Quiet and kind and lovely. I’d known that she wouldn’t be the same person as Millie. I’d known that since I let Millie go, and my father’s best friend, Mordecai, had come to me in London, berating and comforting me in equal measure.
He’d warned me to be sure of my decision because there was no going back. He’d been separated from his mate after only meeting her twice, and he’d never found her again. It was two hundred years before he found his mate once more, and she’d been nothing like the original women he’d met. He’d been so shocked he’d nearly lost her a second time. He’d warned me that even knowing that it was the same soul that he had connected to the first time, he’d nearly walked away from the new woman.
He’d spoken so earnestly that I’d listened intently at the time, but I’d rarely thought about our conversation again. I hadn’t been able to even imagine finding my mate again, and for a long time, I knew it wasn’t even possible. Millie had lived for fifty more years after we’d met on that London street. She’d had children and grandchildren and a full beautiful life, though I’d never seen it.