Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 63970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
She turned toward the door where Kori stood. “I won’t be long. I don’t have much in the locker anyway. When did Big Tag decide to remodel?”
It had been a bit of a shock when Charlotte had announced that the women’s locker room was getting a redesign and everyone needed to clear out their lockers before the weekend was over. It seemed a little sudden, but then they were the king and queen, and they could be a bit capricious at times. If they wanted to give the old locker room an upgrade, who was she to argue? But she was going into the hospital on Monday, so she had to get her stuff out now.
Kori shrugged. “You know Big Tag. He works in mysterious ways. I’ll be over at the office. Come by when you’re done and we’ll call Jared.”
She frowned. “I don’t know that I should.”
“I thought we settled this. You have to talk to him.”
“He hasn’t called. He hasn’t texted. I think maybe he got the message last night. I will absolutely talk to him at some point, if only to apologize. I shouldn’t have told him that way and I shouldn’t have led him on. I should have laid the cards out and given him time to think about it.”
A brow rose above Kori’s eyes. “Think about whether he wanted to stay with you?”
“It’s a lot,” she replied. “The man wants a family and I can’t give him a natural one. He wants a kid who looks like him. I get that. He’s got some good genes to pass on.”
“He’s not as shallow as you think.”
“I don’t think he’s shallow at all,” Sarah argued. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a child who looks like you.”
Kori shook her head. “Ever heard of surrogacy? There are a lot of ways to make a family. Get creative, girl.”
She hadn’t even thought about surrogacy. Or adoption. All she’d thought about was the fact that she couldn’t be the one to carry his baby. There were options. But she couldn’t let him make reckless decisions. “He needs to think about it. Maybe once the surgery is over and I’ve recovered we can try to be friends again.”
Kori sighed. “We’ll talk about that, too. I’m going to meet Kai. He said he needs to talk to me. I’ll see you in a few.”
The door closed behind Kori and Sarah took a deep breath. She knew her friend was beyond frustrated with her, but she wasn’t sure what else she should do. Jared hadn’t reached out. If he’d wanted to talk, he would have been on her doorstep this morning. He needed time and she intended to give it to him.
And if he decided he needed someone else, she would accept that, too. She wasn’t sure how, but she would. Wasn’t she supposed to want what was best for the man she loved?
She heard the snick of a lock sliding into place and turned, her heart racing just a bit.
Jared stood where Kori had seconds before. He was tall and delicious in all black, from his dark denims to his sneakers to the muscle shirt that showed off years of hard work. He was so lickable it was hard sometimes to remember that the best part of the man was his kind heart. Though he didn’t look kind now. He looked irritated. Super hot. But irritated.
“Where did you come from? Did Kori let you in?” Were they going to talk about this here? She’d expected a phone call. It was going to hurt to do this in person.
“I’ve been here the whole day, Princess.”
He stepped away from the locked door and loomed over her. There was a darkness around her normally sunny guy that probably should have had her backing up. She’d never been that smart. Nope. The tight line of his jaw, the way his muscles were tense like he was a predator about to pounce—it simply made her go soft.
But she couldn’t go soft now. She didn’t want Jared’s sympathy. She was truly happy the whole situation had come out and she didn’t have to lie about it anymore, but she had to hold the line where it came to Jared. They would both be miserable if they didn’t slow things down. “I’m sorry about how I told you. I shouldn’t have dropped that in your lap.”
“Is that how you’re going to play it?” His voice had gone low. Now she could recognize it for what it was—his Dom voice. It was the one he’d used when he’d been Sir. He apparently didn’t respect personal space when he used this voice because he was standing mere inches away from her, so close she could practically feel how hot his skin was.
“What do you mean by play? I’m not trying to play anything.” She hadn’t meant those words to come out so breathy and submissive, but he was pushing her every button when it came to that part of her personality.