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)
My hands ached to undo her pants. To pull them off and bury myself between her legs. But then someone called her name, someone from out in the bar. Possibly another waitress. I hoped I never found out who, because right now, I could’ve easily decked them.
Maggie groaned as she swung her legs down. I didn’t let go of her until she was steady on her feet. She stared up at me, her lips swollen in a way that made me want to repeat the kiss all over again.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the night we showed up on your friend’s doorstep,” I said quietly.
Maggie stared at me for a moment longer, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she turned to go, her movements a bit dazed. When she was several feet away, I heard her speak.
“Me, too.”
15
MAGGIE
Something had to have been wrong with me.
I couldn’t put my finger on it yet, but, deep down, I believed that.
Ever since Rocco beat the daylights out of those two thugs, my life had changed. He, Julian, and Slater had messed me up, but each for different reasons.
Rocco was a single father. Tough on the outside, but tender with his little boy. He was a bit rough around the edges, but he’d had it rough so far. He had been carrying responsibilities that he should have shared with the mother of his child. And both Julian and Slater mentioned how he’d always looked out for them.
Julian was more of a mystery to me. I didn’t quite know what made me tick, but he kept his cool. Usually. There had been nothing cool about the kiss he’d given me in the hallway at the bar. That had been all heat. I still didn’t quite get how I could desire him right after finding out that he’d killed a man. Of course, that man had been on his way to possibly kill me and my customers. It was something I could barely wrap my head around.
Slater was also hard to define. Easygoing one moment, and hotheaded the next. And somehow sexy as hell throughout. Of course, this was the case with his friends, too. Nevertheless, his raw sexual magnetism was palpable. It took me just moments to get tangled in it.
All this had been swirling in my head for the past three days. Struggling to swim in a sea of indecision and frustration, I realized I needed help. There were two people I knew who might be able to help me figure this out—if they’d put their judgment aside and actually listen. Sure, Zoey had come down hard on Slater and the others when she told me about their involvement with the mafia. And once the adrenaline had worn off, Piper had been shocked at everything that went down at Zoey’s place that night out in North Haven.
Still, they were my best friends, and lord knew that I needed some friends to talk to right now.
Piper had to work the night shift, which meant we were all more or less on the same schedule. It was nice to have friends who lived the same night-owl lifestyle I did. We met for a late lunch at a place Zoey knew. It had a decent assortment of sandwiches and salads, and it wasn’t even that crowded in the late afternoon.
“Hey, Zoey,” I smiled. “Thanks for this. It means a lot to me.”
Her expression was somehow resigned. “I’m not sure exactly what you need to talk to us about, but something tells me that you didn’t heed my warning.”
I shrugged noncommittally, but she saw right through that.
Piper was waiting just inside the door, and we exchanged hugs before ordering at the counter and getting a table.
Once we were all settled, my friends both looked at me. “Spill,” Zoey ordered. Somehow, I didn’t think she was talking about the drink I was sipping.
I took a deep breath. “There’s a man I can’t stop thinking about.”
Zoey’s eyebrow arched. “Just one?”
Piper laughed. “Of course, just one.” Then she looked at my face. “There is just one, right?” Realization hit her. “Oh no. Is it those three men who were hurt?”
“Yes.” My voice was small.
“All three of them?” she said in disbelief.
I frowned. “It’s not like we’re having orgies or something. I just… I’ve kind of had a moment with each of them, and… I like them.”
Piper apparently couldn’t wrap her head around that. “Well, obviously, you have to choose one of them.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Zoey set her fork down next to her salad. “There’s no rule that says a woman can only like one man at a time.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“There kind of is,” Piper insisted. “That’s how most relationships work. You really think it’s okay for her to like three men?”
“Yes,” Zoey said. “There’s nothing wrong with it.” She turned to look me in the eye. “Just not those three men.”