Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95906 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95906 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Traitor,” he murmured before he kissed me softly. When he pulled back, his eyes were filled with desire. “I was kind of looking forward to payback… tonight.”
I twined my arms around Con’s neck and let my fingers toy with his hair which had come free of the tie sometime during the battle. “Oh, that’s still happening,” I reassured him and then it was my turn to kiss him.
This time when we separated, I didn’t miss the worry in Con’s expression. “I need to tell you something, but it has to wait until tonight after the kids are asleep.”
“Does it have anything to do with that reporter asking about your supposed fiancé?” I asked. “The one you were spotted with a month ago at a hospital in New Jersey?”
It wasn’t often that I was able to throw Con for a loop, but it sure was fun when it happened. My lover paled and his arm automatically tightened on my waist. We were still in the deep end of the pool so he was forced to keep us both afloat, but not surprisingly, he managed it just fine.
“Oh shit, you saw that?” he asked.
“I saw,” I returned.
“Fuck, Micah, I’m sorry. I meant to tell you about that a while ago. When I took you to the hospital, they had this policy that only family could—”
I kissed him hard to silence him. I could hear the kids behind us splashing around in the shallow end of the pool so I knew they couldn’t hear us, or really even see what we were doing.
“That’s twice now,” I said softly against Con’s mouth.
“What is?” Con had figured out he wasn’t in trouble so he was nipping at my mouth in an attempt to get it back where he wanted.
“That you’ve referred to me in some way as your husband.”
Con paused. I could feel the tension running through his body. “Does that scare you?” he asked carefully.
I shook my head. “Not as much as it probably should.” I brushed my mouth over his.
Admittedly, I’d freaked out more than a little when I’d been watching the live interview and that particular question had come up. Con had laughed it off and kept his response ambiguous, but I’d been on the verge of having a small heart attack. Thankfully, the logical side of my brain had kicked in and I’d figured out for myself why someone might have thought I was the man’s fiancé at that hospital. But hell if the seed Con had planted three days earlier when he’d mentioned to the kids that he wanted to marry me someday hadn’t sprouted and grown into a full-on tree in my chest after that.
Con sighed in relief and dropped his head to my shoulder. “Tonight,” was all he said but it was the way he said it that had a tickle of nerves going through me. He sounded worried and that had me on edge. If it wasn’t about the fiancé thing, then what could it be? Was he finally coming to his senses? Had the reporter’s question made him realize what I’d known from the moment I’d realized I was losing my heart to him?
“Con,” I whispered as he held me.
“Yeah?”
“Promise me you won’t draw it out. Just… just rip the fucking Band-Aid off, okay?” I hated the vulnerability that consumed me, but there was nothing I could do about it. At best, I could try to insulate myself from the pain long enough to make my escape.
Starting now.
I tugged free of Con’s hold and forced lightness into my voice as I said to the kids, “Are you guys ready for dinner?”
I kept my attention on Rory and Christopher as I ushered them out of the pool and directed them to the pile of white fluffy towels sitting on one of the loungers. I heard water splashing behind me, presumably as Con was getting out of the pool, but I forced myself to keep my eyes on the kids and quickly got them moving toward the elevator that would take us down to the main living area of Con’s apartment. I caught a glimpse of a very pissed-off-looking Con right before the elevator closed.
“Is Uncle Con mad that we won the fight?” Rory asked.
“No, honey,” was all I managed to say. A glance at Christopher showed that, like his sister, he’d recognized the sudden shift in my behavior. I felt like an ass for ruining their night, but the knowledge that I was on the cusp of losing something I’d never known I wanted was making it hard to keep my shit together. “How about pizza for dinner?”
The question was met with silence. Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I managed to hold it together.
Barely.
It didn’t help that when the elevator doors opened, Con was waiting on the other side of them. He wasn’t even a little bit winded from having run down the two flights of stairs to beat us.