Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Okay,” I said before we hung up. I stood there, still in shock at my realization.
This place felt like home. This is where I felt safe. Where I saw myself in the future if I ever looked ahead.
It’s where I slept and cooked and played with Skye. It’s where I rocked her to sleep or sang her songs. It’s where I paced and bounced and cried with Skye when she couldn’t sleep. It’s where I’d fallen in love with her. It’s where Brogan and I…
I set down my cell on the kitchen island, sinking back into the barstool because my legs just couldn’t hold me upright anymore.
I was in love with Skye. The thought of leaving her was like a physical pain in my chest, and I knew it would come. I knew it would hurt like hell.
I also knew she was worth every inch of pain I’d have to take when her mother showed up, and I was forced to leave.
But…
It wasn’t just Skye I was falling for. No, I could feel it in my bones, in the very depths of my soul. When I looked ahead, I saw myself with Skye but also with Brogan. And that scared the shit out of me.
Because if I’d learned anything from my mother’s past, I knew the minute I let myself love Brogan, let myself commit to him…
Whatever was between us would vanish.
And I’d be crushed twice over.
So, who in their right mind would willingly sign up for that?
11
Brogan
“It’s not a date,” I assured her for the four-billionth time as we stood in the kitchen, dressed and ready for the Reaper Halloween party. We’d decided to play off my nickname, going as a devil and an angel. Costumes were never my thing, so I’d gone with more of the Lucifer vibe, pulling my Brioni tux from the closet and pairing it with a red shirt and an atrocious set of glittering horns Fiona had insisted on.
She, however, looked like a fucking dream. There was no skimpy, out-of-a-bag costume for my woman. Nope. She wore a diaphanous, off-the-shoulder, white gown that fell to the ground in flowing layers, but also had a slit up the thigh, revealing miles of creamy skin with every step she took. Her hair was piled on her head with loose curls, topped with a glittery halo and an impressive set of wings that was going to be hell getting into my car.
She really was an angel.
Fiona was already my opposite in every way—kind, considerate to everyone around her, compassionate, and so fucking patient. I was hot-tempered, selfish, and honestly didn’t give a fuck about anyone but Skye…and Fiona. For them, I’d be anything they wanted.
My heart went all soft, which had become a familiar state in the past few weeks.
“It sure seems like a date.” She pressed her lips in a firm line as worry filled those gorgeous eyes.
“But it’s just a party,” I answered with a shrug, shifting Skye in my arms. She’d made it exactly three houses in her stroller before letting us know that trick-or-treating was not her jam.
“That we’re going to.” Fiona’s eyebrows arched. “Together.”
The doorbell rang.
“Still not a date.” I flashed her a grin and headed to answer the door. Of course, it was a date, but it turned out that while most women might jump at the chance to date an NHL star, Fiona wasn’t one of them. She was so against labeling whatever it was that we were doing, that I’d pitched tonight as a team event instead of a date. Sure, it actually was a team event, but considering that we were going together, and coming home together—where I’d peel that fucking dress off with my teeth…yeah, it was pretty much a date.
I opened the door and found Evie—Mia’s best friend, standing on my porch, shifting her weight back and forth a little nervously.
“Hey, Evie. Come on in.” I kept my voice soft, knowing that the young woman was more than a little nervous around me.
“Hi,” she answered with a tepid smile that grew into a bright grin when she spotted Skye. “Hiya, Skye!” She held out her hands for my daughter, and I hesitated only a second before forking her over.
Tonight would be the first time I’d left her with anyone but Fiona since she’d been dropped on my doorstep almost two and a half months ago. But Evie was Mia’s best friend, and had been through all the background checks and classes required by the part-time babysitting job that had seen her through college and now the first semester of her masters.
“Aren’t you just the cutest little…” Her eyebrows scrunched. “Is she a devil?”
“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Fiona answered, fluffing the sparkly red tutu that encased my daughter’s waist. The thing made it impossible to crawl in, and since that was Skye’s favorite new activity, she wasn’t quite as enchanted with the mass of tulle.