Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Are we rolling or no?” Clay asks.
Even knowing this might blow up in my face, my gut is urging me to shove my reservations aside and go for it, because if by some miracle things were to work out, it might be one of the best things to ever happen to me.
She might be one of the best things to ever happen to me.
Is that a risk I’m willing to take, even knowing the possible consequences?
The answer is yes.
“We’re going.” I look between Miranda and Willow. “Do you guys mind keeping Winter for a bit?”
“Of course not,” Willow says.
I focus on Miranda when she doesn’t answer, and she gives me a warning instead.
“If you hurt her, Miles, I will kill you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I tell her quietly, then head for the treehouse, where the kids are playing. The moment Winter spots me through the branches at the top, she hurries down the slide and runs in my direction, with Kingston right behind her and Skye close on their heels.
“You’re finally home?”
“Yeah.” I pick her up and kiss her cheek. “But I’m gonna take off again, and you’re gonna hang out with the girls and Kingston for a little while longer.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see Emma.”
Not just her eyes, her whole face lights up. “Can I go with you?”
“Not this time,” I tell her, setting her on her feet, and she pouts up at me.
“Are you bringing her home with you?”
“We’ll see,” I say quietly, mussing Kingston’s hair when he wraps his arms around my legs. “You guys be good, okay?”
“Can we have ice cream?” She puts her hands together, and Kingston mimics the pose.
“If Willow and Miranda say yes, then it’s fine with me,” I tell her, then she and Kingston share a smile before taking off toward where the ladies just were.
I follow them and find that Clay and Tucker both have on their coats.
“Ready?” Clay asks, and I look between my brothers.
“You don’t need to go with me.”
“We know we don’t need to, but who’s going to relay the story to the girls later if we don’t?”
“Right,” I mutter, then say goodbye to Willow and Miranda, who are with both kids in the kitchen, scooping out ice cream, as we head out of the apartment.
It takes no time to get to the bar Emma and her date are at. After Clay parks, since he’s the one who drove, I get out and walk up to the door. The bar is dark, the red walls and dim lighting casting a romantic glow that is only amplified by the jazz music playing softly in the background. With the seating only couches or chairs with low tables, it’s a space designed to make you feel like you’re at home or at a bar from the old days.
It takes me only seconds to find Emma, sitting on red velvet loveseat with a man dressed in a crisp-white dress shirt unbuttoned at the throat, his face clean-shaven. He looks like he belongs on Wall Street, not in Nashville. When she smiles at him, my hands ball into fists.
She looks beautiful.
She always looks beautiful, but I’ve never seen her like she is this evening. Her makeup is light, but the deep-red lipstick painted on her lips gives her a sexy edge. Her hair is down, the top pulled back away from her face, the ends curled, and a couple of pieces fall over the front of the low-cut, cream-colored, silky-looking tank she has on. The straps at her shoulders are so thin they are almost invisible, and the material looks so light it floats over the tips of her breasts like water. With one look, I know she’s not wearing a bra.
The man across from her knows it too, seeing as he has glanced at her chest three times since I’ve been watching them.
Jaw clenched, I try to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do, now that I’m here. There is no way I’m leaving without her, but I’m not sure causing a scene is going to work in my favor. She’ll fight me every step of the way if I attempt to just pick her up and carry her away like I have the urge to do.
“What’s the plan?” Tucker asks, and I glance over at him.
“I have no fucking idea.”
“Just toss her over your shoulder, and let’s go,” Clay suggests, and I press my lips together. Who would’ve ever thought he and I would be on the same wavelength? When he started dating his now wife, I would laugh at how ridiculous his jealousy made him. Now, I’m in the same fucking sinking boat.
“I’m not saying that isn’t a solid plan, but knowing Emma, I don’t think it will go over well,” Tucker mutters.
“It doesn’t matter anymore anyway, since she’s spotted us,” Clay says, and I look over to the loveseat she’s on and find her eyes on the three of us wide with surprise—or maybe disbelief.