Total pages in book: 200
Estimated words: 189898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 760(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
We were both too on edge to linger.
It was chaotic as hell, but eventually, we made it to the top of the tower. It was there the tension that had been brewing all through dinner exploded.
He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, and we didn’t stop even when we knew we were being photographed and recorded.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against my lips.
“No sweat,” I said as I swallowed the cherries. “I think the cat was kind of already out of the bag, you know?”
The look Houston gave me made it clear that I was provoking him. And then he sighed. “Fawn.”
“What are you sorry for?” I asked him with an evil smile. I already knew, but I needed to hear him say it.
“I’m sorry for not being a better man to you and a better friend to Rich. It wasn’t my place to tell you about Emily, but I should have fought harder to convince him.” Houston’s jaw tightened as he looked away, over the railing, and out to the city that promised romance beyond. “Even now, I’m conflicted. I chose him over you once, and I won’t do it again, but I ca—”
No longer indignant, I felt my legs tremble at the emotion in his voice and the words he couldn’t bring himself to say for fear of what they might cost us. Houston looked at me then, meeting my eyes, and I saw the decision not to lie to me again.
One by one, those shards pieced themselves back together.
The cracks were there, but I was no longer afraid of them. Instead, they served as a reminder that love wasn’t meant to be a pristine affair. It was meant to be messy and meant to hurt, but it would always mend if it’s true.
“I’m in love with you.”
It wasn’t what Houston had been trying to say.
But it was the truth his heart required.
Before allowing any others, he had to finally let that one free, and now my feet no longer felt like they were touching the ground.
“I need you to know that and for you to believe me. I need it because…I can’t pretend I’m not afraid of where he is and what he’s thinking. Jericho’s lived with this void, and once it has him, it…Loren’s looking for him right now, but…”
His fear mounted, making it harder for Houston to finish a thought, so why did I understand everything he was trying to tell me? Was it because I felt it too?
Did I really have to ask?
“Then let’s go,” I heard myself say to him. “Let’s go find Jericho.”
Houston’s surprise and his relief lasted for only a second before we were rushing hand in hand for the elevator to take us down. It seemed like an eternity passed before we reached the ground. Houston was on his phone checking for an update from Loren, and as we rushed outside and for the car, a new hour must have dawned.
Over my shoulder, I smiled up at the tower we had left behind as twenty thousand bulbs began to sparkle and wish us luck.
After reading the text that just came through, I quietly exhaled before pocketing my phone.
“So this is your plan then?” I questioned as I made my presence known. The hooded figure sat alone on the green bench, not caring who came along. “You’ll get arrested with your record, and she’ll take you back?” I snorted. “Think again.”
Rich sighed as he continued to sulk at the blue tiled wall in front of him. There was white writing on the dark glossy surface that said the same thing in the few languages I could translate, along with a dozen or so red specks that made no sense to me.
“Fuck off, Lo.”
Ignoring him, I frowned as I looked around. “How the hell did you even get in here?”
“I was good at this once, remember?”
Realizing he was referring to who he’d been with Emily, I rolled my eyes before turning to the square’s security guard. He was the one who’d found Rich lurking after hours. “Pouvez-vous nous donner un moment?” I asked him in rusty French.
The guard hesitated only a moment before nodding and trotting off. Sitting next to Rich on the bench, I got comfortable after looking at the stubborn set of his mouth.
“How did you even find me?” he snapped.
“Night guard’s a fan.”
I didn’t bother to elaborate any further because it didn’t matter how I got here as long as I was here. For the moment, Rich was too much of a jackass to see it.
“Lucky me,” he mumbled.
“Would you rather be in jail for trespassing?”
“Yes.”
I stared at his hard profile for a moment. “I take it things didn’t go well with Braxton this morning?” He didn’t bother to respond because I already knew the answer, so I tried a different tactic to keep him talking. Anything to keep him from sinking too deep inside his head where all the fucked-up thoughts resided. There would be too many casualties trying to get him out if he gave into them even once. “So, what now?”