Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Julian nodded, still looking in the mirror. He tilted his face one way and then the other, wiping away the rest of the glass from his hair.
“In the bar, I’ve never even seen you three talking to anyone else.” It was something I’d always wondered about.
“Yeah, we are tight,” he confirmed, his gaze dropping down to his feet. “Like brothers.”
It wasn’t a lot of information, but it was more than I’d known about them before. I also knew that he was worried about Rock. He kept poking his head out and glancing down the hallway.
Each time he did, it gave me a chance to examine this mysterious and hot-as-hell man.
He was the tallest of the three, at least 6’ 3” with brown hair and a short, well-trimmed beard… His upper body seemed to be suffocating in that tight, blue shirt. It was tight around the arms and across the chest. Perhaps Julian should have considered a bigger size when he bought that one, but it wasn’t like I was going to complain about the view. Nor about those dark green eyes that sometimes seemed to look right through you.
My throat went dry as I stared up at him. He was so damn handsome and so damn close. I didn’t know him, but his concern about his friend touched me.
But then my friend appeared. Piper paused in the doorway, pulling off rubber gloves and leaning close to Julian to throw them away. “Your friend is going to be just fine,” she announced, bringing a broad smile to Julian’s face.
“Thanks, Piper.” He offered her a warm glance, his smile widening. “Can I go see him?”
“You can, but I gave him a strong painkiller. He’s on the couch and likely to be out for at least a couple of hours.”
“Where’s Slater?” Julian questioned, craning his neck.
“He’s standing guard,” she said, rolling her eyes. “In case Maggie or I attack your sleeping friend.”
Piper rolled her eyes, and I nearly laughed out loud at the way she spoke to a stranger like Julian. Clearly, she was still in her take-charge nurse mode. It would be amusing to see what she thought about being around these three, big strong guys when she returned to her normal, shy self.
“Thank you for fixing him up,” Julian said, his voice warm and sincere.
Piper’s eyes widened—she must’ve finally noticed his looks. “You’re welcome. Are you two okay in here?” She squeezed his hand as she examined the cuts and scrapes on his arm.
“Just fine. Maggie took good care of me.” Julian turned his gaze back to me and winked.
Piper went to get cleaned up, and I followed Julian into the living room. Rock was stretched out on the rose-colored sofa, looking far too big for it. Slater sat on the floor, his head leaning against the arm of the little sofa. Like Rock, he was out.
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Julian rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval at Slater.
“You guys have been through a lot tonight,” I said. Slater was the one who came into the bar the least, but I already knew he was an interesting character. Always doing something out of the expected. Like sleeping on the floor next to his injured friend. The tip of his tongue poked out of his open mouth as his head lolled back.
“He’s an ass, but he’s like a brother to me. They both are.” Julian sat in the pink and white armchair across from the sofa. He looked ridiculous with his long limbs sticking out. Ridiculous but somehow still handsome. He wasn’t as muscular as Rock, but he was still shredded. All three were.
“How long have you known them?”
He leaned back in the chair. “Since we were kids. We were all in foster care together.”
Since he didn’t seem to mind my questioning, I asked more. “In the same family?”
His face darkened. “No. There weren’t a lot of people who wanted to take in rambunctious boys. Rocco’s the oldest. Just by three years. I know it doesn’t make much difference right now, but, believe me, it made a big difference when Slater and I were twelve and he was fifteen. He used to rough up everyone who tried to give us a hard time. That occasionally included a foster parent or two—when we had one.”
His confession shut me up for good.
The good news about his friend probably helped him relax enough for him to disclose something this personal. And all I could do was just stand there, mouth agape, trying to force another word from my throat.
“Jesus…” I gasped. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” He interrupted me with a hand raised up to his chest. “We probably wouldn’t be as close as we are without the crappy upbringing.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I focused on something else he’d said. “I didn’t even know his name was Rocco until just now. I thought they called him Rock because of his size.”