Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
This fuckin’ boot is driving me crazy. Lila only let me take it off when I was lying down, and she did her best to keep me in bed most of the night.
Now here I am sitting on the edge of the bed with a coffee in my hand. She’s beautiful. And I would love to keep her in my bed a little longer, but the choice is out of my hands.
I lean over and put the coffee on the nightstand before planting a hand on each side of Lila, hovering over her.
“Princess, it’s time to wake up.”
She opens her eyes and slowly with a smile on her face, she stretches, pulling the sheet down and baring her breast to me.
I would love to press my mouth to her, but I can’t. Not right now. Fuck. “Hey, wake up. We need to talk.”
She snaps her eyes open, and the smile is gone. She looks around the room and back at me. “What is it? What time is it?”
I ignore her questions. “Hey, you’re going to dump your boyfriend. I’m not sharing. As long as you’re with me...”
She sits up and unfortunately brings the sheet up to cover her naked breasts. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Is that what you think? I wouldn’t have done this if I had a boyfriend.”
I know I’ve pissed her off, but I don’t care. All that matters to me is that she doesn’t have someone else she’s seeing. Just the thought that some man thought they had some claim on her was enough to piss me off. “Your dad said—”
She cuts me off. “I lied. I’m not proud of that but he was trying to fix me up with you, and I knew you weren’t interested, so I was trying to stop him before he embarrassed us both.”
Stunned, I ask her, “Wait. He wants us together?”
She shrugs and tries to get out of bed, but I hold my arm out to block her. “Lila Grant, talk to me.”
She is looking everywhere but at me. “Yes, he knows how I feel about you.”
Like a crazy man, I can see my future unfolding. Things I never thought possible are finally within reach. As long as I don’t mess it up.
I kiss her like my life depends on it. I would give anything to lay her back on this bed and continue from last night, but if it all works out like I want it to, I’ll have the rest of my life to do just that. I pull back from her, find my shirt that she was wearing last night, and toss it on the bed. “Get dressed. Your dad, Rusty, and Eli are all here.”
Her eyes widen, and she shoves me in the chest. “Shut up!”
When she realizes I’m not joking, she jumps out of bed and practically runs across the room. “Oh my God. Hurry up, get outta here. Oh shit, this is your room.”
I’m completely unfazed by the situation as I watch her get dressed. At this point, I’m not hiding what’s happening between us from anyone. I know her dad’s outside, but I’ve already made the decision that I was going to talk to him today about how I feel about Lila.
Lila juts her hip out. “What are you doing, fool? My dad sees us together like this and he’s going to have all kinds of ideas…”
When I don’t budge, she rolls her eyes. “Ace, I’m talking serious ideas. Like a shotgun wedding! That’s right, my dad would totally try to force you to marry me.”
As calm as I can be, I stand up and walk over to her. I ignore my unlevel hobble to get there. I can’t be mad about hurting my ankle anymore because it brought Lila to me.
“There’s going to be a wedding, but no shotguns will be involved. Now get dressed. I’m going to go and talk to your dad. I left you some coffee on the nightstand.”
After a quick kiss because I don’t trust myself to do more, I walk out of the bedroom with a shocked Lila staring after me.
Chapter 16
Lila
By the time I get outside, my dad and Ace have taken the side-by-side recreational vehicle out to the south pasture. Rusty, Eli and I were left to work on the fence around the barn.
I’m on edge all day because Ace’s parting words have put me into a tailspin. What does he mean my dad won’t have to use a shotgun?
I worked on the fence with the guys, worried about Ace and his ankle, and went inside and started a pot of chili to simmer on the stove. I’ve done my best to stay busy until Ace and my father get back.
By the time I hear the motor of the side by side, I’ve worked myself into a fluster.