Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
I felt a little tremor of unease. “You must have really liked him.”
He huffed out a laugh, recognizing the direction of my thoughts. “Not like that. Of course he’s hot. Jude’s also hot. But seeing how much they loved each other put both of them off-limits in my mind immediately, which was good. Made it easier to accept their help, honestly. I knew they genuinely wanted to show their gratitude by helping me, and didn’t have any… other motives.”
It took me a second to realize what kind of “motives” he meant.
“I hate that you were in a place where you had to question that.” I sidestepped a jagged rock embedded in the trail floor and quickly reached for Trace’s hand again when I fell back in line. “For what it’s worth, my parents would have helped you even without the whole life-saving thing in the bar.”
“I know that now. At the time, the only reason I was able to accept their help was because Derek seemed so hell-bent on repaying me.”
“You let him get you a job at On Your Six,” I prompted.
“Not at first. First, he moved me into a studio apartment, spouting some bullshit about how he and Jude needed someone to stay there to keep squatters out while they looked for new tenants.” Trace shook his head, amused. “Took me a while to realize it was a place they kept downtown for late nights in the city. Then I found a framed family picture shoved in a drawer. Ollie confirmed it when she showed up one night to sleep there and screamed her head off when she discovered the bed already had a body in it.”
I barked out a laugh, thinking of my favorite aunt—and former nanny—coming into an apartment, expecting it to be empty and finding a stranger instead.
“Did she hit you? You know her entire family is law enforcement, right? She’s taught me as much self-defense as my dad has. Only she fights dirty.”
“No. She actually burst into tears and thought one of your dads was keeping me on the side.”
“What?” I gasped and yanked his hand until he stopped to face me. “You’re kidding?”
Trace’s grin was warm in the morning sun. “She was shitfaced. Had gone out with a friend to a club to celebrate something. I don’t remember now, and maybe she never even said. But it was kind of funny. Had to call Derek to get Jude to talk her down. By the time the call ended, she was asleep in my bed. The next morning, we were halfway to being friends.”
I remembered Trace and Ollie both being around a lot when I was younger, like satellites orbiting our family dependably and steadily. “When I was little, I thought the two of you were together,” I admitted.
Trace laughed and set us back on the path so we were moving forward again. “You didn’t realize I was gay?”
I shook my head. “I just knew that Molly Hovan’s nanny had a boyfriend, so I assumed my nanny had one, too. And since you were the one hanging around Ollie all the time, it had to be you.”
He grinned. “Logical, I guess.”
“Then I realized you were gay when you dated Ryan.” I scowled at the trail. “Fucking hated that guy.”
Trace’s laughter was bright and easy, and I felt it ease all the muscles in my back and shoulders. “Ryan. Wonder where he is now.”
“Prison?” I grumbled. “Would serve him right after what he did.”
“What’d he do?”
I stared at him. How could he not remember? “Uh, broke your heart, Trace. You cried for two days!”
Trace stopped again to face me. He studied me for a moment, then cupped my cheeks and leaned in to press a soft kiss to my lips. “You have a giant heart,” he said softly. “And I hope that never changes.”
I wrapped my arms around his broad back and held him for another deep kiss before asking what he meant.
He brushed my cheek with his thumb. “I was crying because I lost a principal at work. A woman I’d been protecting for the better part of a year was killed in a car accident. When I told Ryan, he made a joke about it. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back on our relationship. But I wasn’t crying for him. I was crying for her.”
I thought about it for a second, then narrowed my eyes and muttered, “Never mind. Prison’s too good for Ryan.”
Trace whistled low. “Damn. What happened to my sweet, peace-loving Wolfe Marian?” he teased.
“I am peace-loving. But I’ll burn the world if you hurt or threaten someone I…” I had to physically swallow back the word that was on the tip of my tongue. “…care about.”
Thankfully, Trace didn’t seem to notice my almost-stumble.
“Well, I’m glad to still be one of those people,” he said.