Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“The world isn’t going to explode if you have friends who mean something,” he says, his voice gruff and lovely and husky. My ovaries twinge at the sound of it.
Damn it.
“Friends?” I cough. “Friends don’t kiss friends. All your brothers and their wives and girlfriends…they were all sitting around the table and sharing married or at least partnered looks with each other, the kind of looks people share when they really know and get each other and connect with each other, and it wasn’t weird because that was okay for them.”
“Okay, I see. I think.”
“It’s okay that they can barely keep from ripping each other’s clothes off and that they made it obvious what they wanted to do with the whipped cream later. It’s okay because they’re in love, they’re going to stay in love, and everything is going to be fine for them because it’s what they want, and they’ll work hard at it.”
“Umm…I see?”
I bite down on my lip and blink against the surge of burning, stabby tears at the backs of my eyes. I’m glad I’m facing the windows. Just in case eye leakage occurs, I’ll have time to deal with it before Orion notices.
“The first part of my life didn’t set me up to make it with other people. I have no idea what a good relationship looks like. A successful one, one that lasts and works. All I got was people who left, which made for a pretty damaged view of the world, or at least a warped view. I’ve always struggled to make friends even. I’m not good with any kind of connection. In Vegas, I guess I was lonely to the point where I did something crazy when I wasn’t fully in control to tell myself not to do it. And then, even that went to shit, which is not exactly a promising start for putting oneself out there. Okay, all of that aside, it just wouldn’t work. It would get complicated and messy, and then we’d hate each other, your family would feel like they had to take sides, and it would just be terrible. It’s better to cut losses before they stack up sky-high.”
“Cut losses?” he chokes. “Can you turn around, please? Having this conversation with your back is like talking to the ass end of a mythical beast. It’s unnerving and strange, and it’s making me feel funny.”
This time, I’m not biting back tears. Instead, I’m biting back a smile. At least Orion has a sense of humor, and so does his entire family. It’s probably how they’ve survived this long.
When I pivot around with my face schooled into an emotionless void, my va-jay gives a leap and tumble at seeing Orion’s smile. He has that special smile, the kind that makes his lips just perfect. It’s the type of perfect that arches straight to my lady spots and induces a rush of warmth to surge inside me.
It would be so much easier if I could just despise him and his family.
It would be so easy if I didn’t feel weirdly close to them after tracking him down this whole past year.
It would be so much easier if he weren’t kind of nice and also kind of chivalrous and noble enough to sleep under a treehouse at night to keep watch. It would be easier if he weren’t so darn attractive in so many ways.
Gah, that smile of his is still going strong. It’s actually getting deeper and bolder. Now my whole body needs an ice bath or a leap into a cold lake to cool off.
“Was the kiss that bad?” he asks. “Is that why you’re leaving?”
Good cheddar cheese. I can deal with anything but this. “N—no. It wasn’t bad.” I ball my hands into fists at my side. “That’s why I’m leaving.”
His brows knit together. Even his scowl is hot. Actually, duh, of course his scowl is hot. He has that rugged kind of face that gets even better with age and scowls. “You’re leaving because it was a good kiss? Good is bad?”
“Good is bad,” I confirm. “It can be bad.”
He snorts. “So it’s a pride thing.”
“No,” I growl. “I said before. It’s not a pride thing. It’s really not. It’s because this whole thing is a disaster. We would be a distraction, and that’s exactly what your family doesn’t need. I’ve met them all now, and they’re all incredibly nice.”
His brows arch further down toward his nose. “So you’re afraid? Because that makes no sense.”
“Yes, I’m afraid.” I’ll admit it. I’ll own it. “Is that so wrong?” I whisper-yell.
“Hmm.” He stops frowning, and damn it, why is his face just as hot now? “I didn’t actually expect you to agree with me. I thought we’d have a big standoff with you protesting that you’re not afraid of anything because you’re tough. Hmm, I…I have to say I have nothing.”