Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“Now it’s us.”
“For the last week, it’s been us,” I respond.
Robbie looks up, exhaustion, anger, and disappointment all evident. “No, just the six of us. Max, when he can be read in. Dad will be the face of the partnership. He’ll take our failure in stride, explaining there was bad intel. From here on out, it’s the men in this room. We’re on our own.”
Finn relaxes, letting out a caustic chuckle. “Old man is a brilliant bastard.”
“Am I missing something?” My frustration has me vibrating.
“We have all the resources at our back but no longer collaborate.”
“They think we’re incompetent?” Major cracks his knuckles. “We’re not the ones—”
Robbie raises a hand, shaking his head. “To them, we fucked up. But to us, we uncovered a weak link, a mole, a leak—whatever the fuck it is. We now have the autonomy to work without reporting up the chain.”
His words sink in and I relax. “No more pussy-footing around and playing political checkers?”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“Hell yeah!” Talon claps his hands together. “The band is back together.”
“With two more members,” Finn corrects him.
“Reminding you we are at the Reserves this weekend, and I’m getting married next week.”
Robbie cracks a small smile. “Then when you get back, we take the fuckers down. Our way.”
The tension in the room evaporates and takes on a new sense of determination.
Yeah, we do this our way.
18
ROWAN
I scrub my hands through his thick hair once more, styling it to the side. “What do you think?”
Cruz stares in the mirror, assessing his new cut. His eyes come to mine, shining brightly. “Where the hell have you been all my life?”
“No regrets?”
“None.”
“Miracle worker.” Alex kisses my cheek, bringing his mouth to my ear. “I owe you.”
“Heard that!” Cruz yelps.
I glance at Shayla and Ginger, and we burst into giggles at the same time.
During his vacation, Cruz became a fan of the shaggy, surfer, beachy look. He hasn’t cut his hair since. He was almost out of the awkward stage when Alex begged me to intervene.
I thought it was growing out cute but had to agree that Cruz is a naturally clean-cut guy.
With the wedding days away, Cruz took me up on my offer to give him a fresh look.
“You still have some length on the top.” I pull the warm towel off his neck.
“And that’s a wrap. You are officially off.” Shelby swooshes by, taking the towel on her way to the back. “I’m now the boss.”
Shelby was more than willing to handle the salon while I’m in Kentucky. She and another stylist will share opening and closing, but Shelby is the primary point person.
I don’t usually take time off, but when I was in the hospital, Shelby stepped up to help my mom run the business while I recuperated.
“And this is for you.” Ginger serves everyone a glass of wine, toasting, “Our vacation starts now.”
“By the look of her baggage, not sure this is a vacation.” Shayla gestures to the two large standing travel organizers by the desk. “You do realize you’re in the wedding, right?”
“I may be a bridesmaid, but I’m also a stylist. It’s sacrilege to travel to such an occasion without my essentials.”
“I have to agree. Ember has been packing for days in case any adjustments need made to the dress on Saturday,” Cruz relays. “It’s quite the event.”
“I personally can’t wait to get there. Two weddings in less than four months are exhausting.” Shayla slices her eyes to me. “Promise me you won’t get married in the next three months.”
I choke mid-swallow. “W-w-what?” I gasp, wine sputtering everywhere.
“You’re obviously next.”
“I’m not getting married.”
Silence falls over the room, all eyes boring into me.
“Denial,” Cruz mutters.
“I’m not in denial. Ford and I just started dating.”
“Oh Lord, do these men screw these women into oblivion?”
I shoot him a nasty glower. “I’m not oblivious.”
“Apparently, you don’t see what we all see.”
My heart flips, and a brief sensation tickles inside.
“That man is in line to hand in his bachelor card, build a house, and fill it with the next generation of little badasses who will save the world.”
“You see that?” I croak, my throat suddenly dry.
They all nod in unison.
“I love him, but we haven’t even lived together.”
“He’s already informed us that is changing soon,” Alex states.
Ford hasn’t mentioned me moving in with him again since that morning. But the inference is always present. Especially the nights he works and leaves me at the townhome with ‘the look’.
The look that screams ‘you should be in my house right now’.
“You guys have been cool about him coming and going. Even with his erratic schedule.”
“We knew what we were getting into. Robbie broke us in years ago.”
I smile, sipping my wine carefully in case they want to drop another bomb.
“Speaking of coming and going, Robbie popped into the shop the other day and he was foul. Any idea what happened?” Cruz cocks his eyebrows.