Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
When I tucked my suitcase away in the closet, I covered another yawn, stretching my mouth wide. “I’m excited to see you with your friends,” I said. “It’s nice to get a glimpse of who you were after…”
I swallowed, not sure how to finish that.
After you left?
After you left me?
“What about you?” Kyle asked. “I don’t think I’m the only one who’s changed since high school.”
I smiled on a sigh as I sat on the edge of the bed. “My life has been pretty boring compared to yours.”
“Doesn’t seem boring to me, especially not with Sebastian.”
Kyle smiled on that remark, but it twisted my gut.
“He’s everything to me,” I whispered, looking at my fingers in my lap.
I’d peeled half my nail polish off on the plane ride here, and I cursed internally, knowing I’d look like a kid next to all those beautiful women I just met in the lobby. No doubt, they’d have perfect manicures.
“How did you and Marshall meet?”
I chuckled, looking up at him. “You really want to know that?”
His jaw ticced. “Yes.”
“You’re still a shit liar,” I said on a laugh. I shook my head, shrugging. “It’s nothing romantic. I was out at a bar that I had to use a fake ID to get into. He was there with some friends. He saw me trying to drink away my problems, and came over pretending to be an undercover cop, and then he was making me laugh, and then…”
I swallowed, not wanting to finish that sentence, and realizing I didn’t need to.
Kyle was smart enough to fill in the blanks.
“You got married pretty quickly,” Kyle guessed. “You must have really fallen for him.”
I snorted. “Getting married was not my idea. But, I got pregnant, and Marshall is old school, so…”
I didn’t dare look at Kyle. I didn’t want to see his reaction to that.
I yawned again, covering it with the back of my wrist before I shook my head. “I’m not being fair, I guess. I really did fall hard for him.” I paused. “It’s just that now, I realize I fell for who he was making me believe he was, not who he actually is.” I sniffed. “Hard to find anything kind to say about a man who…”
I sucked in a breath, not able to finish the sentence.
And when I let that breath out, Kyle was beside me, his large frame sinking into the mattress and making me lean into him a bit without meaning to.
He covered my hand with his, squeezing it.
And I knew from that alone that I didn’t need to say another word.
He understood.
Another yawn found me, and I laughed a little, eyes watering as I shook it off. “Sorry.”
“You should take a nap,” Kyle said on a smile.
“No, no. We need to go meet up with your friends. I’ll just splash some cold water on my face. I—”
I tried to stand, but Kyle grabbed me by the hips and pulled me back down onto the bed.
He let go of me as soon as I was sitting, but I felt the imprint of his hands on my skin like he’d branded me.
“Look at me,” he said, and when my eyes slowly trailed up to meet his, he grinned in a way that made me feel like a teenage girl with a crush again. “I’m going to get out of here so you can have some quiet. Call your mom, check in on Sebastian, and then take a nap.”
“But—”
“I’ll have some tea sent up around five, that’s plenty of time for you to shower and get ready for the night. You still like Earl Grey? Honey and milk?”
My lips parted.
He remembered the kind of tea I loved?
He smiled a little when I didn’t respond, and then his hand reached forward, tucking my hair behind one ear. “When’s the last time you took a nap?”
I finally closed my lips on a swallow, then shook my head. “I can’t even remember.”
“See?” He held up his hands and splayed them wide over the room. “Look at this. You’re in a fancy hotel room with this ginormous bed all to yourself for a couple hours. Take a fucking nap, Mads. You deserve it.”
My eyes stung, and I blinked several times to keep them from watering. “What about you?”
“I have five rowdy teammates downstairs to keep me occupied,” he said, standing and moving to the window.
He pushed a button and the blackout curtains slowly lowered, instantly making the room dark, save for the lights we’d turned on. He put those out one by one, until only the lamp on one of the bedside tables was lit.
“I’ll be back around six,” he said, grabbing his wallet and a hotel key from the table. He tucked them both into his pocket before walking over to me again. “Take a nap. Take a shower, or hell, a bath — did you see that tub in there?” He grinned. “Drink your tea, enjoy some peace and quiet, and then you can face my crazy friends for a night.”