Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
His voice was ice-cold when he spoke. “Do I ever joke?”
“You made love to me, then told me you didn’t love me anymore a few weeks later. You don’t think that’s too soon?” I hissed. “You made it clear this isn’t going to happen again, so I’m not going to wait around for the slim chance you might change your mind. I’m still in my twenties, so I have time to find someone else. I’m too young to waste my time crying over a man who doesn’t want me.” I headed to the stairs.
He grabbed me by the arm. “I’m not done talking to you.”
I shoved him in the chest. “Grab me again and see what happens.”
His nostrils flared with rage, and he pressed his lips tightly together to contain his frustration. “Whatever guy you bring around will be around my son. That makes it my business.”
“My mother watches him when I stay over. So they’ve never met. If I want to marry the guy, then I’ll introduce them. So, calm down.” If that was really his only concern, he would let me go. I headed to the stairs again.
This time, he didn’t grab me, but he quickly maneuvered his body in my way. His hard chest blocked my entrance to the stairs. “Who is he?”
“What?”
“I asked who he is.”
“What does it matter? You probably don’t even know him anyway. He owns a winery in Tuscany and has a shipping business. He makes an honest living, so I doubt you have any idea who he is.” I was making this up on the spot, and I was surprised I could keep going.
Hades didn’t like that answer. “So, you pick up guys at bars and then meet this guy?”
“How’s that any different from what you do?”
He turned silent because he had no rebuttal.
I tried to move around him.
His arm slid around my waist, and he positioned me in front of him again.
This touch was different from the others. This time, it was gentle rather than aggressive, and he wanted to get me close versus stopping me from leaving. His arm formed a leash around my waist, and he kept me close to his body so we were practically one person.
My heart was beating so fast, I was afraid he could hear it. The sizzling energy was between us again, possession, jealousy… It all radiated from him. I tried to control my breathing, but it was chaotic. I didn’t want to go home and sleep alone. When I left Andrew here, it made me cry because I wished I were with them both. There was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than right here. I wanted him to ask me to stay. I wanted him to snap out of this weird trance and be the man I remembered.
He looked into my eyes as he spoke. “Stay.”
My heart was about to burst out of my chest. “What?”
“Stay with us.”
I couldn’t feel my legs or my fingertips anymore.
“Andrew deserves to have both of us in the same room together. We’re still a family.”
I wondered if this was a ploy so I wouldn’t see my fake boyfriend. Or maybe it really was a heartfelt request. But either way, there was nowhere else in the world I would rather be. And it made me so happy that he wanted me to stay. “I already have plans…”
“What’s more important? Some guy or your baby?”
I still wasn’t sure if he was just using this as an excuse to keep me away from the imaginary guy, but he gave me a good excuse to get out of it so it wouldn’t seem like I’d caved. “Let me call him…”
We had dinner together just the way we used to. Helena’s home cooking was exactly the same…warm and delicious. I had only been in his bedroom one other time since our split, and I hadn’t really had the opportunity to examine the details of the room.
Now I noticed the bed was different, the frame made out of a different kind of wood, and the sheets had been changed. His watch no longer sat on the nightstand, and a few other things were out of place. The room didn’t feel as warm as it used to. It was sterile and dry.
The entire time we were together, I was nervous and tense. I kept hoping something would happen, and I had to remind myself to behave like he didn’t matter to me. That required me to look at Andrew instead of him, to make conversation about subjects I didn’t care about like the weather, politics, and other nonsense.
We sat together on the couch with the TV on. There was a cartoon show on the screen, and Andrew liked to look at the colors and characters. He lay against Hades’s chest so he could see the TV easily. He was in a blue onesie, his eyes wide open with interest.