Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Is it me or does he look hot with facial hair?” Ruth asked next to me.
“It’s not you.” I threw down the towel in my hand and whipped around the bar at record speed.
Before I could stop myself, I marched over to him, grabbed the lapels of his suit in my fist, and pulled him into the hallway behind the bar. His eyes widened as if he was surprised by my reaction to seeing him after he’d ghosted me all week, and my already boiling blood seemed to reach a tipping point. Before I could stop myself, I lifted a hand and slapped him across the face as hard as I could muster.
“What the fuck was that for?” He set a hand on his face, nostrils flaring.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
“Where do you think I’ve been?” He eyed me suspiciously, as if I’d been the one to up and disappear and not answer my freaking phone.
“How would I know? You haven’t answered my texts or my calls. If you wanted to ghost me, fine, but at least respond when I ask if you’re alive!” I growled, then looked away to regain my composure. Each breath I drew brought clarity and made me feel horrible for hitting him. With a deep sigh, I met his gaze again, taken aback at the intensity in it, but I managed to push on. “After everything I told you I just thought, I don’t know what I thought. The worst, obviously.”
He studied me for what felt like hours before saying, “I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, I got that part.” I laughed shakily, looking away again. “A simple text would have sufficed.”
“Hey, what could I have possibly gotten into?” He reached for my hand and that was when the butterflies hit, the spark, the skipping heart. My eyes snapped back to his. If he felt anything, he didn’t let it show, but I could’ve sworn his expression had grown darker. “Rosie. What did you think happened?”
“I don’t know.” I pulled my arm from his hold and took a step back. “Are you wearing a different cologne?”
“Um, yeah.”
“It smells nice.”
“Thanks.” His smile was fleeting. “What happened last time I was here? I don’t remember much of it.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to, as high out of your freaking mind as you were. That’s why I’ve been so damn worried. They escorted you out and put you in the back of an Uber and then . . .” I shrugged exaggeratedly. “You could’ve at least answered your phone.”
“I lost it that night.” He stepped away. “As you can see, I’m here.”
“Look.” I signaled between the two of us. “I don’t know what this is tonight, this sudden shift of energy or whatever, but I’m telling you right now, I won’t be with someone who does those kinds of drugs. I draw the line at marijuana. If you want to dabble in other things, fine, but I won’t be here, not even as a friend. I can’t.” I swallowed once I finished my speech.
“Noted.” He kept looking at me like he was trying to solve a freaking Rubik's cube. After a second, he took another step back and started turning to leave. “I’ll see you around.”
“What?” I set my hand on his arm to stop him from leaving. “That’s it?”
He arched an eyebrow, eyes dancing. “You have something else in mind?”
“No.” I scowled, dropping my hand quickly and crossing my arms.
“Hey.” He tilted my chin to meet his eyes. Was he taller tonight? “You don’t have to worry about me, Rosie.”
With that, he left, and I was left frozen, looking at the expanse of his back as he went downstairs and disappeared into the sea of people dancing. That was weird all around, but at least he was safe.
2
DOMINIC
There’s a code between brothers. I should know, I have a lot of them.
Don’t lie.
Don’t steal from each other.
Don’t fuck each other’s women (without permission).
This particular situation made that last one a little less black and white since my brother, the one who shared a womb with me, failed to tell me that the bartender he’d been visiting there was Roselyn Vega. Of course, the motherfucker wouldn’t tell me that. Why would he, when he knew exactly what I would do had I known she was in the same city as us? It had been ten years, but we both knew if we ever saw her again and she was single, she was fair game. We hadn’t said that, but it was another unwritten understanding between us.
I’d never been jealous of Gabe about anything. Not his good grades, not his ability to juggle school and sports easily, not even the way Mom laughed extra loud at his lame jokes. The only thing he’d ever had that I’d ever been jealous of was Rosie. I wasn’t a selfish asshole, I didn’t go around lusting after any of my brothers’ girlfriends or wives, but Rosie was the exception to the rule. We’d known her since we were kids, but something happened between the ages of fourteen and sixteen that made me really start to notice her. When I told my brother about the crush I had, his response was, “She’s saving herself for marriage. Leave her alone.”