Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“You just what?”
It felt like everything was weighing down on me. Everyone always comments about how happy and positive I am, even when inside I’m drowning. I took on this project of building a dog park and was soaking every ounce of money into it, and I didn’t even have the necessary funds to put tires on my old car. I barely had enough to keep myself afloat. And to top it off, the icing on the proverbial cake, I was in love with a man who didn’t want anything to do with me.
I lifted my head, and the moment I saw those eyes, I lost control and cried. Not just the tears that slowly slide down your face, where the hero reaches up and wipes them away. No, I had to burst out in sobs—the kind that shakes your body and makes your nose run instantly.
“Shit,” Nate said as he pulled me to him. I buried my face in his neck and just rapid-fired all of my problems. Everything was muffled, and I was glad for that because, truth be told, I didn’t want Nate to hear all of my issues. He was the last person I wanted to tell my woes to, but at the same time, it was nice to say it out loud.
Suddenly, I was lifted off the floor and carried over to the sofa. Nate sat down with me on his lap as I buried my face into his neck. Now that the dam was broken, I couldn’t stop it. All the feelings, every single one that I’d kept buried deep down inside over the years, the ones about my father, my mother working two jobs to keep up with the house, and me trying to help her and secure a future for myself…it was all coming up to the surface. I could feel his hand move up and down my back as he softly told me everything would be okay.
“Shh, it’s okay, Haven. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
The more he told me not to cry…the more I cried. I wasn’t even sure when the last time I had cried was. That was a lie. It was the night Nate rejected me. And here I was, in his arms, crying like a damn baby.
“Tell me what’s going on, sweetheart. Why are you so upset?”
I wanted to grab onto his use of the word sweetheart and analyze it, read more into it than was probably there, but I knew it was useless. Nate had made it clear time and time again that he had no feelings for me. Yet, he held me while I cried, which had to mean something, didn’t it?
No. No. No.
I wasn’t going to read into anything. Nate leaned back on the sofa, taking me with him. The tears just kept coming. I finally relaxed against him, and the last thing I remember before crying myself to sleep was Nate’s soft voice.
“It’s okay. I’m here, and I won’t let you go.”
I blinked my eyes open only to shut them because of the sunlight pouring into the room.
Sunlight?
Sitting up quickly, the room spun slightly. I had to close my eyes to get my equilibrium back. I slowly opened one eye, then the other. It took me a hot second to realize where I was.
Nate’s guest room. The same room he had brought me into to shower and change. Turning to my left, I sighed when I noticed that the side of the bed was still pretty much made up.
Swinging my feet over, I stretched my arms up and let out a long breath. I must have slept like the dead. I looked at my Fitbit to see what time it was and nearly choked on the air I sucked in. It was almost nine in the morning. Catching sight of my phone on the side table, plugged in and charged, I grabbed it. There was a text from Sophia.
Sophia: Good morning! Nate texted me last night to let me know you had fallen asleep and that your car was at the shop. I hope it’s okay, but I figured you were still sleeping when I hadn’t heard from you earlier this morning. I took it upon myself to text the morning and afternoon groups this morning to cancel today due to the weather. With all the rain and flooding, I didn’t think you would be taking the pups out, or that some of the roads would even be passable.
Me: Morning, Sophia. I’m so sorry, and I must have been more tired than I thought. I just woke up, and that’s perfectly fine. I wouldn’t have been able to get there in time. Did you happen to let Owen know?
Sophia: Yes, I let him know.
Me: I owe you, Sophia.
Sophia: That’s what partners are for! I’ve got your back.