Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
She scrambled away as I hit the ground hard. With the wind temporarily knocked from my lungs, it gave her enough time to successfully get away. I lay in the same spot for a moment to make sure nothing was broken, and I thanked God I was in good enough shape to take a fall like this. Slowly, I stood up and headed up the stairs with menacing determination.
When I found myself in front of Frankie’s bedroom door, I discovered it was locked.
There was no point in knocking. I knew that without even trying. Perhaps she didn’t take this seriously and it was all a game to her, but by the end of the night I would be the winner.
Chapter Ten
Frankie
The man was insane.
I was more than willing to follow through with what he’d asked, no demanded of me; so when my alarm went off at an ungodly hour, I got up, showered and dressed to make his breakfast of a Greek omelette with a side of toast, and then I waited. And waited. After an hour passed at the time he said he usually ate his breakfast, stupid me thought I’d go check on him to make sure he was okay.
I knocked on his bedroom door, but there was no sound. I figured he might had slept past his alarm, so I poked my head in to see that his bed was already made, and he was gone.
To say I was annoyed was an understatement. After the big fuss he’d made about me taking over his housekeeping and cooking duties, that fucker had the nerve to go.
I ended up eating the meal I’d prepared since I hated wasting food and set about cleaning. The house was enormous with a kitchen, dining room, family room, sitting room, game room, full finished basement, five bedrooms, four full baths and a power room. Thankfully, it was relatively in order, so all I mainly did was some dusting and vacuuming. However, as I went through each room, my heart twisted a bit when I thought about the first time I had visited this place and how Nick had proudly gave me a tour. He’d intimated that it was the perfect place to raise a family, and there was a time when I could actually see myself here with him.
But then Kenny happened.
I never thought I’d step foot in this place again, especially not in these circumstances. By the time I finished cleaning the house to the best of my ability, I was tired and emotionally drained and frankly feeling a little cabin fever. I remember I’d packed some work out gear because I needed to expend some energy. Sometimes I’d ran to clear my head, and my thoughts were as chaotic as they were going to get. I know Nick said that I wasn’t to leave the house, but I interpreted his instruction to mean not to leave the neighborhood. I was certain he didn’t expect me to not want to go outside at the very least for some fresh air.
So I ran. And even though it didn’t solve any of my more pressing issues, it was a coping mechanism that allowed me to destress a bit. It was my intention to shower and started looking through the fridge for dinner ideas. But when I walked into the house, I was met with an enraged Nick. His usually bright green eyes had gone so dark they had appeared to change color. The scowl distorting his features made my pulse race in fear.
I didn’t believe I’d done anything wrong, but apparently Nick thought otherwise which is how I found myself running away and locking myself in my bedroom. I did feel kind of guilty for kicking him in the chest, but I had no idea what he’d do to me once he caught me. I had no intention of leaving my room until I was sure he had calmed down. Once the door was firmly locked, I sunk to my knees.
All the stress that had been building up over the past several days came back with a fury. I took deep shallow breaths to fight off a full-blown panic attack.
I’d never seen him so enraged.
Not even when I left him for Kenny.
It was ironic that we were meeting in this exact same coffee shop where our worlds first collided, but it was in the middle of the city and an easy place for us to get to. I’d been dreading this meeting for a week. We hadn’t seen each other since the huge blow up with we’d had, and he probably thought I had contacted him to work things out.
I nursed the caramel latte in my hands not really tasting the frothy sweetness. My stomach was in knots, and my whole body shook. I didn’t know how he’d react when I told him the news, but I didn’t have long to dwell on it when he came into the coffee shop looking better than a cover model on a high-end men’s magazine. Clad in a pair of worn jeans and cream sweater, his look was casual but still screamed expensive. His hair was wet and slicked back like it didn’t have a chance to dry before he came here. The lower half of his face now sported two-day stubble giving him a primal appearance. More than anything I wanted to leap out of my chair and right into his arms, but I remained in my seat with what little will-power I had left.