Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Except I know what happens to people that don’t love each other, but insist on staying married anyway. I’ve watched it for years now, as fight after fight slowly eats at them, slowly cows them.
“Let me ask you something, Shane.” I glance at my young companion. He looks supremely uncomfortable. Good. “What do you think about your boss?”
“Finn?” His eyes widen. “He’s one of the best in the city.”
“One of the best what exactly?”
“Crew chiefs.” He cocks his head, squinting at me. “How much do you know about him?”
“I know he’s a Crowley and he runs crews. And apparently you’re part of their organization.”
“Finn’s the youngest crew chief in the city, and in the Crowley family, that’s a huge deal.”
“But what’s he like?” I press. “Is he fair? Good to work for?”
“Demanding,” he says, looking out across the trees. “But, yeah, I’d say he’s fair. He asks more of himself than he does of anyone else. I’m lucky he took me under his wing.”
“Lucky,” I say softly, marveling at this young kid thinking he’s lucky for getting to work with a gangster. “Come on, Shane. Paint me a picture here.”
His face contorts like he’s trying to think in the middle of a hailstorm. But finally, he says, “Finn’s a good leader. He’s the first one in and the last one out, and he makes sure everyone gets a fair cut. He sometimes has a short temper, but the guys he beats down always deserve it. Anyway, I’m happy I work for him. I’m pretty sure that if he hadn’t taken an interest in me then I’d be either dead or in jail.” He stops walking and faces me with an intense expression. “I’m only telling you this because in all the time I’ve worked for him, Finn’s never shown any interest in a woman before, much less assigned me to one for guard duty.”
“Could’ve assigned someone else,” I say, head cocked.
“Maybe. But I doubt it. What are you to him, anyway?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I turn away, walking on. Shane shadows me before reaching my side again.
I keep thinking about what he said as we go on in silence. How Finn’s fair. First in, last out. But also, those words beats down float through it all, and the violence it implies.
That’s not the sort of life I’m used to.
My parents might despise each other, but there’s never been any violence.
Still, he’s never assigned a guard to a woman before—which probably means I’m the only girl he’s gotten pregnant.
God, I don’t know what to think.
Shane interrupts my thoughts as we pause near a fountain. “Sorry, Dara, but I should get going.”
I blink at him in surprise. “Why? Did he call?”
“Actually, he’s right over there.” Shane nods over to a bench on the other side of the fountain. “He’s been waiting.”
“You steered me here.” I gape at him in surprise. “You devious little bastard.”
He grins, shrugging. “What can I say? I’m not as helpless as I appear. Anyway, good luck with whatever you two are doing.” He turns and walks off, moving with big, loping strides.
I face Finn, teeth gritting together. I didn’t want to see him, not for a little longer still. I don’t have an answer for him, and I’m not sure I’ll have one at least for another few hours, or days, or weeks—but there’s no avoiding this.
He stands as I approach. I stare at his hands, at his chest, up to his lips, and wonder how I ever thought I could avoid this forever. My heart’s racing, my stomach feels sick.
“Dara,” he says, gesturing for me to come closer. “We need to talk.”
“I’m not ready,” I blurt out. “Your little crony was following me around, and I haven’t been able to think.”
“Sorry, love,” he says quietly, steering me so I’m in front of the fountain. I feel the faint spray of the mist against my side. “But you’re out of time. You need to choose.”
“Choose? Right now? I don’t understand.”
He holds onto my hand and drops to one knee.
“What are you doing?” I ask, on the edge of real panic.
He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small ring box.
My eyes go ride. “Finn. Seriously. What are you doing?”
“Dara Connell.” He stares into my eyes as he opens the box. A gorgeous, glittering diamond stares out at me. “Will you marry me?”
Chapter 18
Dara
A thousand replies flit through my mind all at once.
I could kick the ring into the water and run. I could scream for help. I could throw myself into his arms, sobbing and begging him to keep me forever. I could do some version of all three, which wouldn’t be very elegant, but still.
But only one reply comes to mind.
“Maybe,” I say.
The surprise on his face feels delicious. “Maybe?” he asks, eyebrows arched.
“Under one condition.” I stare down at him, hands trembling. “You need to swear that no matter what, our baby will be your priority. Girl or boy, no matter who they end up being, you will love them. This might be your only child.”