Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Please don’t be there. Please don’t be there.
“He would’ve called if he was here, and we weren’t unless Gerard had a damn good cover story,” Troy says, and I’m not even sure if he’s talking to me or himself.
Either way, it doesn’t matter. The driveway is empty. Troy punches the gas and hits the garage door opener, whipping in and throwing it into park. “You need to get upstairs and shower. It doesn’t matter if he gets here and you’re showering, but I know you smell like me.”
I nod, even though the thought of losing his smell bothers me. “Okay.” I swing the door open of the Mercedes and rush out just as Gerard steps into the garage, his arms folded across his chest.
“How lovely to see you two this morning,” he says, shooting us both a smirk, though I don’t miss the relief in his voice. “I thought we might have one big clusterfuck on our hands. Maybe we shouldn’t indulge in these one-off vacations behind Henry’s back.”
I ignore his words, giving Troy a weary glance as I pass Gerard. The fresh air filling the garage from outside should be nice, but at the moment, the woodsy scent permeating my senses only makes me feel that much worse.
He could show up at any moment.
The thought gets my heart beating heavily again, and I punch the button to close the garage door. They both look over at me, and I shoot them a weary glance. This is not how I want to spend the rest of my life—sneaking around under my dad’s nose.
“Do you have his location?” I hear Troy ask Gerard as I slip through the doorway and into the kitchen.
“No, I don’t. You know that I don’t. He’s been elusive, just like you.”
“Hmm.”
I don’t hear the rest of the conversation, making my way through the cabin up the stairs. I do need a shower, the scent of Troy heavily lingering on my skin. However, I can’t shake the disappointment of that. I’d always have him on my skin and be in his house if I could. His presence is calming, and he sees me.
A smile tugs at my lips as I enter my room, shutting the door behind me. I peel off my sweater, toss it into the hamper, and do the same with the rest of my clothes. The nerves from trying to beat my dad to the house are slowly wearing off now that we’re here, and he’s not.
I step into the bathroom and turn on the shower, cranking the temperature to hot. My shoulders still feel tense from the drive, and I lean against the counter, waiting for the water to heat up fully. My mind flashes with images of Troy against my skin, and I let myself stay there for a few moments, shutting my eyes.
I want him… for good.
My eyes flutter open at that thought, and I pull my hair tie out of my hair, stepping into the scalding water. As I wash the remnants of his scent away, I know I’ll never completely wash him off me. I’m starting to realize I don’t want to, which means we’d have to tell Dad.
Swallowing hard at the thought, I go back to focusing on washing myself. That will be something that Troy will have to handle or at least come up with the how and when. After all, he’s the one who mentioned it twice already.
“Dropping your bag off!” Gerard calls from the room, startling me.
I laugh at how tense I am. “Yeah, okay. Thanks!”
“Your dad isn’t here yet either,” he replies. “You both are lucky as fuck. I can count the times that Henry ran late on one fucking hand. This is an anomaly.”
“Good to know,” I call back. I hear his heavy footsteps leave my room, ones that I missed entering it. I focus on cleaning myself and then step onto the fluffy rug, wrapping myself and my soaked hair in a towel. Then I breathe a long, heavy sigh of relief until there’s a knock on my door.
“It’s Troy,” a deep voice says on the other side.
My heart flutters. “Come in.”
The door swings open, and in walks Troy, dressed entirely differently than before, wearing a suit. Any bit of casualness to his appearance is gone, and he looks all professional, even as his eyes rake over my body.
“You need to hide that bag,” Troy gestures to my overnight bag on the bed. “I don’t know if Henry will come to your room, but that’s hard to explain away.”
I nod, knotting the top of the towel and grabbing it up. “I’ll just unpack it quickly.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, we freeze, Gerard’s voice filling the house.
“Well, good to see you, Mr. Massino.”
Troy lets out a sharp breath. “Hide the bag, get dressed, and get downstairs as soon as possible.”