Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m always right. Remember?”
I managed a shaky smile. “How could I forget?”
“I don’t know. You’re not too bright sometimes. Come here.” Grabbing me around the neck, he pulled me into his chest and rubbed his knuckles against my scalp before embracing me again. “Let’s go out for dinner tonight. I’ll even let you choose the place.”
“Okay.” Swallowing back more tears, I let him hold me and rub my back. I breathed in his scent. I listened to him tell me everything was going to be okay.
And I felt the ground giving way beneath me.
Thirteen
Enzo
I had no idea how shitty I’d feel that Bianca hadn’t gotten pregnant. I felt like I’d let her down.
She cheered up when we went out for dinner, and she kept a smile on her face afterward when we met up with Griffin and Blair for drinks, but I could tell she wasn’t completely herself. For one thing, she hardly ripped on me at all, even when given the opportunity. And when I poked fun at her, she didn’t poke back or even give me her mad face.
I was actually really worried by the time we got home, but I didn’t want to bring it up again, in case she was just trying to forget it and move on.
“Want to watch TV or anything?” I asked her.
“Nah. I’m tired,” she said. “I think I’ll just head up to bed.”
“Okay. I’ll go up too.” I followed her up the stairs, but when she reached the top, she stopped moving, and I bumped into her from behind. “Whoa. You lost or what?” I took her by the shoulders and steered her into the bedroom. “It’s this way, Columbus.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure where I should sleep.”
“What? Why?” I let go of her and started unbuttoning my shirt.
She appeared flustered. “Well, because we can’t—we don’t need to—there won’t be sex for a while. So I thought maybe I should sleep in the other room, the one I was supposed to use. Most of my clothes are still in there and everything.”
Our eyes met, and I peeled off my shirt. “Do you want to sleep in the other room?”
She opened her mouth. Closed it again. Looked away from me. Fidgeted.
I laughed, grabbing my undershirt from behind and yanking it over my head. “It’s an easy question, Bianca.”
“No, it isn’t,” she said, her eyes on my chest.
“What’s so difficult about it? Do you want to sleep in here with me or alone in the other room?”
She blushed and folded her arms over her chest. “It’s not really fair of you to ask me that question when you’re shirtless.”
I smirked. “No?”
“No. It clouds my judgement.”
“What about when I do this?” I flexed my biceps and arranged my face in a sexy, brooding pout. “Or this?” I turned sideways and struck a different pose, giving her the Moretti smolder over one shoulder. “Can you think now?”
Shaking her head, she started to laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I know. But you can’t resist me.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I think I can. In fact, goodnight.”
She went for the door, but I darted in front of her, scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder before depositing her on the bed.
“You’re the one being ridiculous.” I braced myself above her. “Just stay in here.”
“Do you want me to stay in here?” she asked craftily.
“I don’t know. Maybe you should take off your shirt and ask me again.”
She laughed. “Listen, I’m just trying to stick as close to the original arrangement as possible. I feel like we’ve mucked things up so much already.”
I was about to argue with her but realized she was right. What we were doing looked nothing like what we’d planned on. The no-sex rule, the separate rooms, the whole pretending to like each other—it had all gone out the window somehow.
But I liked things the way they were, and I didn’t want them to change. And if I couldn’t manage to get her pregnant, she was going to be gone in two months anyway.
I didn’t want to think about it.
“I still think you should just stay in here,” I told her. “It seems stupid for you to go back and forth. Plus I like sleeping next to you.”
“You do?” She looked surprised.
“Yes. Sleeping Bianca is my favorite. She smells just as good as Awake Bianca, but she never rolls her eyes and she doesn’t give me any lip.”
“Sleeping Enzo is nice too. All of the muscles, none of the attitude. Although, he does snore, so it’s a bit of a tradeoff.”
I grinned down at her. “So will you stay?”
She sighed, like the whole thing was such a hardship for her, but then she smiled. “Yes. I’ll stay.”
“Good.” I stood up and went over to the dresser, where I unbuckled my belt and pulled it from the loops.