Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
“Or you got yourself locked up,” the blond chuckles, elbowing Romero while wearing a smirk. He has a scar running down his cheek, and I don’t think it came from shaving.
Only now do they notice me standing by the stove, and it’s then that they both go silent. “Uh…” the dark-haired one grunts, while the blond clears his throat.
Romero’s clearly at a loss, too, which would make this maybe the first time I’ve ever seen him that way. I could get used to it. He’s almost… human. “Tatum, this is Dex.” The blond gives me a jerk of the chin. “And Austin.” The dark-haired one gives me a little wave.
“I was just about to start dinner,” I announce, and no meal anywhere in the world could be as delicious as the discomfort that twists Romero’s features at that announcement. It doesn’t even matter that they’re strangers, and I don’t know what to expect from them–besides, he could take both of them out with one arm tied behind his back. “I could make extra if you’d like to stay for dinner?”
The way their eyes gleam doesn’t mean half as much as the way Romero’s darken. As soon as his icy gaze lands on mine, I feel myself growing warmer. Who does he think he is? If he thinks I’m going to pass up this opportunity to discover all of his dirty secrets, he’s out of his damn mind.
CHAPTER 7
ROMERO
Lord, please give me the strength I need not to murder her. Why does she have to be this way? It’s times like this I wish her father wasn’t who he is. I might be able to get away with leaving her on her own, washing my hands of the whole damn thing. Why did this ever seem like a good idea? It’s not enough that I have to deal with her. Now, I have the past staring me right in the face. Literally.
“I could eat.” Dex exchanges a look with Austin, who nods eagerly. At least one thing hasn’t changed: neither could ever pass up a free meal. Although, back in the day, it was more because they couldn’t count on a meal at home. They couldn’t depend on much of anything at home. It was something we all had in common.
How much could we possibly have in common now? I’m not really in the mood to find out. That probably makes me a shitty person, but I never claimed to be a saint. A lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge since the night I left this house for what I figured would be the last time. They can’t know about a lot of shit, and I’ve got this unpredictable, spoiled brat in the mix. What happened to being afraid of them? Now she’s inviting them to stay for dinner.
I realize they are looking at me, waiting for… what? Permission? “If you want to pull up a chair, go ahead,” I offer with a shrug.
Dex smirks, clapping me on the back with a chapped hand that looks like it’s been put to hard use. “Shit, don’t be so warm and welcoming. I might burst out crying.“
Austin, meanwhile, nods slowly as he looks me up and down with the same shrewd, steel-gray eyes my mother used to call haunted. He grew up seeing things no kid should have ever seen, back when this town was at its worst and his mom did what she needed to do to get by.
“You look good. A hell of a lot better than I figured you would after all this time..”
“Got a lot of time to lift, bro?” Dex flexes his bicep while staring at my arm. “Shit. I need to follow whatever regime you’re doing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You both look good.” Better than the scrawny kids they were back in the day, that’s for sure. Their jeans and heavy-soled boots have seen better days. Still, they’re in good shape. I have to stop myself once I realize I’m sizing them up the way I size up all newcomers. What can I say, once a work habit, always a work habit.
Tatum offers a snide laugh as she stirs pasta in the boiling water. “Please, don’t inflate his head any more than it is.”
“Are you sure you guys want to stay for dinner?” I counter. “I know it’s only boiling pasta and heating up sauce, but you might be taking your life into your own hands.” I feel her eyes burning into the side of my head as I take the guys’ fleece-lined denim jackets. She wants to be a snide little bitch? Be my guest, but I won’t stand here and take it just because we have company.
“So, for real. Where have you been all this time? You just… disappeared.“
Dex straddles a chair at the round table, folding his arms over the back. Are we really the same age? Or do I look ten years older than I think I do? The difference between the face I see in the mirror every day and the one looking up at me now is startling. The lamp over the table shines on the sharp angles in his slightly sunken cheeks. Stress lines are in the space between his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes. They don’t smooth out when he smiles. He works outside, I surmise, in the wind and sun. I’ve lived a soft life compared to both of them.