Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Sexy as hell. Smart and funny. You’re the complete package, love. Never forget that.”
He stepped free of her and she immediately missed his heat. The familiar and comforting beat of his heart. The warmth his body exuded around her, like he had wrapped her up in a thick blanket that had been warmed by the fire prior.
Coming over the field she noticed the rest of the people he’d grown up with as well as Isabella’s children. Her kids were in sleds being pulled by their parents, their laughter warm and pure.
She’d been so lost in this man she hadn’t even heard them approach.
Embarrassment flooded her and she yanked her gaze to the ground.
“No hiding. We weren’t doing anything.” A shuddering breath. “This time.”
When she snapped her stare back to him, he winked and smirked.
“Come on, you two,” Falcon cried. “We’re going ice skating.”
Fear slid in to replace her embarrassment. Shaking her head, Rosamunde pressed deeper into the trunk of the tree behind her. “I’ll head back to the house.”
Bryn snorted. “Not a chance.”
Grasping her hand, he tugged her after him, making her hustle to keep up with his longer strides. The entire trip she tried to free her hand from his but he simply ignored her protests and struggles, keeping her hand firmly in his.
They went over one more hill and she paused at the top, gathering her breath while the children went down on the sleds, their screams loud and free. A lake was beneath them. A small shack was beside it as well as two benches along the lakeshore.
“Come on.” He gave her hand a squeeze.
Rosamunde didn’t want to get on the ice but she couldn’t deny how stunning this entire property was to view. Rolling hills that glittered from the frost and ice. The sun would soon be overtaken by the clouds coming in, and despite all things in her mind saying make her way back to the house, she went down the hill with Bryn still holding her hand.
Keely glanced at her, gave a pointed look to where they held hands and smiled before picking up some snow and launching it toward Elonne. As the fight erupted, Falcon, Bryn, and Rosamunde opened up the shack and stepped inside. A small fireplace was along one side. Stacks of cut wood lined a wall. A table was pushed up beneath the window and there was a bed on the other side, piled high with blankets.
Near the door however, she noticed a rack on the wall that held skates. Rosamunde knew this was something slowly catching on but again, the thought of being out on a lake where it could break beneath her and she’d fall in didn’t sit well with her.
From the looks of things here, this family loved skating.
“Let’s find you a pair.”
Falcon picked up a broom and walked out the door, leaving them alone.
In a cabin with a bed.
Heart thundering, she tried to ignore that. People were right outside, so they weren’t truly alone.
“No, thank you.” She pulled from his hold. Being out of the wind was a nice break.
“Why not?”
At the window, she watched Falcon brush the snow off the top of the lake, making it sparkle further. The adults didn’t let the children on the ice until he waved them forward. Lips curling as a few found themselves on their butts, she turned away from the view of happiness and love she wouldn’t ever have in her life.
If I have a child I doubt the old man will want anything to do with it. Then again, perhaps he has children my own age, and merely needs a wife.
“Rosamunde?”
She blinked and found Bryn right there, invading her space.
“What?”
“Where’d you go?”
His hands were settled on her upper arms, his expression full of concern. She lost it. The tears overflowed and raced down her cheeks as she gave a single heart-wrenching sob.
The wail broke him.
He stepped back a second, turning to try to ascertain where the danger came from, the need to protect her as natural as breathing. The moment he realized it came from Rosamunde, he shattered. A sheet of ice with a rock through it, reducing it to nothing but shards.
He was scattered to the four winds and he didn’t know if he would ever be fine again. Holy fuck, that was simply from a single cry.
Bryn dragged Rosamunde into his arms, tucking her tight to his chest. God damn it, he wanted to slay all her demons. Over the top of her head, he saw Falcon stepping toward him and he shook his head. She wouldn’t want to be seen like this.
Because he’d grown up with these guys it didn’t take words to get things passed through the group. Ensuring she remained tight into his chest, he held her as she cried while Keely snuck in, started the fire and took out the skates before he nudged the door closed behind her.