Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Chapter 10
JUSTIN
“I’LL BE BACK in a few minutes,” I tell Aubrey while I gently place Jenna in the bassinet next to her bed.
“Sure.” She gives me a tired smile, and I lean over to kiss her then touch Jenna’s head and order, “Try to sleep.”
She nods, and I kiss the top of her head then follow Kenton and Autumn out of the room.
“Babe, you mind giving me and Justin a minute?” Kenton asks Autumn when the door closes.
She glances between the two of us and sighs. “You’ve got something you need to talk to Justin about that you don’t want me to hear?”
“Babe.” He shakes his head, knowing she’s never been the kind of woman to not ask questions.
“Fine, I’ll go down and check out the gift shop.” She holds out her hand and wiggles her fingers. He grins, pulling out his wallet and giving her a twenty, and she takes it then tugs out a hundred-dollar bill, winking at me. “I’ll find something for Jenna.”
“Hold up,” he orders as she turns to walk away, and she twirls back around.
“What?”
“You’re forgetting something.”
I shake my head as he takes her hand and pulls her close. A lot of other guys would give her a hard time for digging into their wallet, but I know he’s more concerned with letting her leave without a kiss.
A light blush creeps across her cheeks as she rises up on her toes, and he slides his hand into her hair to claim her mouth, not bothered at all by the employees at the nurses’ station who stop and stare at them. When he ends the kiss, she blinks a few times before giving me a crooked smile and turning to head down the hallway.
We watch her until she rounds the corner, out of sight, and then he nudges my shoulder, gaining my attention. “Looks like you’ve fallen hard.” He jerks his chin toward Aubrey’s room.
I scrub my hands down my face, the tired gesture hiding my smile. I never thought I’d fall this hard or this fast for someone before Aubrey came into my life. “Yeah.” I shake my head.
He pats my back. “I’m happy as fuck for you, man.”
“Thanks.”
“She’s sweet, but she doesn’t seem the type to work in a strip club.”
I narrow my eyes, ready to blast him if any negative shit comes out of his mouth, knowing he royally fucked up when he first met Autumn, because he judged her for being a stripper.
He takes a step back and holds his hands up with his palms facing me. “You know I don’t mean it like that. All I’m trying to say is that I feel like there’s a story behind how she ended up there, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s why I’m only now just meeting her. You need my help? Because you’ve got to know I’m here for you and her, no matter what it is.”
I run my fingers through my hair, not allowing my feelings to show on my face. “What happened to Aubrey is hers to share. It’s not my place to tell you that shit.”
“Is it bad?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to think about what she went through, especially so soon after the miracle of Jenna’s birth. The bastard who hurt her doesn’t deserve any part in today. “All I’m going to say right now is if I need your help, I’ll let you know.”
He quirks a brow at me and crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re the nosiest fucker I know, and you have access to a world of information at your fingertips. Are you really going to stand there and tell me you haven’t run a background check on her?”
I cross my arms over my chest, copying his stance, and a muscle in his jaw twitches.
“Don’t make the same mistakes I did,” he adds.
I give him a jerk of my chin to let him know I hear him but don’t say anything.
Before Aubrey opened up to me last night, I resisted the urge to dig into her past. But now that I know about her being raped and beaten, all bets are off. The only reason I haven’t looked into things is because I haven’t had time. Last night, I couldn’t bear to leave her in bed by herself after everything she shared with me. And I didn’t want to run the risk of her waking up alone and thinking it was because I looked at her differently now that I know her story.
I never want her to wonder about that, not even for a second. So I fell asleep with her in my arms and woke up this morning to her needing to be rushed to the hospital. Now that Jenna’s here, digging into her past is on the top of my list of shit I need to do—second only to making sure she has everything she needs while she’s in the hospital.