Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Some people find it a little too intense.
But I think Keely likes it.
I lean closer to her when we’re still twenty minutes from my house. “You’ve been quiet. It’s not like you.”
She glances at me. “I’m tired. Long trip.”
“You’re sure it has nothing to do with the contract we signed?” I figure she’s had enough space to figure out how she feels by now.
“I’ve already forgotten all about that.”
“You’re lying. You haven’t stopped obsessing about it since Gareth left. What’s eating at you? Is it the money?”
She flinches slightly, moving away from me. “It’s not the money.”
“I can have the money removed from the language if that’s bothering you so much.”
“No, I don’t mind the money, it’s not the money.” She shifts from side to side, looking annoyed.
“Then why are you acting like I tried to steal your kidneys?”
She cracks a smile, but quickly stifles it. “I don’t want to have this conversation.”
“Is that going to be our dynamic? You hold everything inside until one night I wake up to find you standing over me with a knife?”
“Don’t assume it’ll happen at night. I can easily snap in the middle of the day.”
“Good point.” I put a hand on her thigh. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
She stares at my hand. I watch the wheels churning. Finally, she looks up, meeting my eyes. “You don’t have to take care of me. That isn’t your job.”
I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “That’s what’s digging at you?”
She brushes my hand away, turning toward me. Our knees touch briefly. “You said the money was to make sure I never wanted for anything. That’s the problem though, isn’t it? I refused to take Ash’s investment because I wanted to run this donut shop all on my own effort. Then I accepted this insane proposal, mostly because I didn’t see any other choice. Now it’s like, suddenly you’re just throwing money at me, and I’ll never have to worry about anything, never have to work hard—and that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid from the start. I want to worry. I want to work hard, and fail, or succeed on my own merits.”
I lean back, studying her. I didn’t expect my offer to elicit this response, but now that she’s laying it out, I can almost understand where she’s coming from.
“You can’t expect me to simply let you go,” I say, keeping my voice as level as I can. “That’s not the kind of man I am.”
“No, you’re much more controlling than that.”
My jaw ticks. “I think of it as protective.”
“You’ve done nothing but maneuver me into doing whatever you want since the night I met you. Tell me how that’s not controlling?”
She has a point. “I’ve done this for your own good.”
“For my own good?” She laughs sharply. “Come on, Nolan, that’s bullshit.”
“As much as you think I’m some monster trying to devour you—”
“And you are,” she says.
“—I am thinking about your needs, too. That’s why there’s money for you even if you decide to leave this relationship at the end of five months. That’s why you have a blank check while we’re together. That’s why you retain everything, from clothes to jewelry to whatever else. You want a house in five months? Buy one now. You want a yacht? Go ahead, I won’t stop you. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
She sits silently, not looking at me anymore, hands in fists, seething. I don’t know what I said to piss her off so much but she’s shaking her head slowly like she’s about to explode. “You don’t get it.”
“Obviously not. Go ahead and explain.”
“You’re going to think I’m an idiot.” She glares at me. “What sort of person wouldn’t want all this? Anyone in their right mind would be throwing themselves at your offer.”
“But you don’t. You’re not in your right mind.”
“I want to choose it. I don’t want to be forced.”
“You’re not being forced.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like I’m an idiot.”
“If you want out—”
“Stop it.” She glares hard, her tone sharp. I don’t let anyone talk to me this way, especially not in front of my men. I’m acutely aware of Roger sitting only a couple feet away, driving like he’s not listening, but he can’t help hearing every word.
Anger simmers in my guts. My temper, beginning to flare. I’ve kept my rage in check since I met her at the wedding—vow renewal, fuck, whatever—but it’s a part of me, a part I wish I could excise, but still there. I pull myself up to my full height, staring down at her, taking slow breaths.
“I am not pretending like you’re an idiot,” I say, trying to enunciate. “I am trying to get you to understand that this is good for you. That I am good for you.”
“That’s for me to decide.”