Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
They’ve made me curious about children again. If women this powerful can still maintain their careers and goals and build a family, why do I think the same can’t happen for me? If I found a man who was as obsessed with me as their husbands are obsessed with them, I feel like it would be doable. Thus, the weirdness surrounding my sudden fortune. I can literally buy anything I want, and now I’m not really sure what I want.
Not all of us are that lucky to marry someone so head over heels, and I’ve momentarily fantasized what it might be like to still have their own space from their partners, basically their own identity, and not get lost in their relationship. I’ve had a lot of friends who, once they get a partner, basically discard everyone around them and only focus on that one person. And to be honest, none of those relationships have ever really worked. So, yes, I want both. Actually, I want it all. I want a man to be obsessed with me, and I still want my own identity. I don’t think that’s asking too much.
Yet it sounds easier than finding Mr. Right. I internally growl, hating that I’m succumbing to the “Mr. Right” idea in the first place. I’m very much happy on my own, so why am I even thinking about these things?
“Earth to Alina.” Honey is waving in front of me, and I look up from my lasagna.
“Oh, sorry.” I laugh.
The sisters exchange another glance.
“I’m sure Will is going to turn up soon. He always does,” Honey assures with a tentative smile, and it makes me feel uncomfortable.
I don’t want them thinking I’m curious about Will, but I also can’t help myself from leaning in and asking, “So, like, his tracking job. It’s not really dangerous, is it? He just hides behind some screens to find people, right?”
“You two haven’t spoken about this?” Rya asks, wiping at her mouth and placing down her fork.
“Will’s line of work can be dangerous. Some of the people who hire him aren’t always good people. He also gets his hands dirty, the same as Crue and Dawson. He might be a goofball at times, but he takes his job very seriously.”
I try to absorb that information. “So, like, theoretically, he could just go missing for a few weeks and never come back?” I ask.
Rya sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “They all could. It’s the world they live in.”
“But they’re also highly intelligent. The risk factor doesn’t get any easier, but you just learn to embrace this part of them as much as they embrace certain parts of you,” Honey says.
I want to laugh. I don’t know if anyone would be so inclined to accept all of me. Especially if they knew about my past. Who I am today is very different to the woman I was those many years ago.
“You seem to have a lot of questions for someone who’s not overly interested,” Rya teases.
I smirk and pick up my fork again. “I just want to make sure we’re not on bad terms. You know, after selling his plane and all.”
“Can’t say Dawson’s ever bought me a plane,” Honey says with a chuckle as she places her hand on her stomach. “I’m sure Will is going to be back in no time. Until then, you’ll just have to get by with your toy.”
“Or go out and find someone else to scratch the itch,” Rya dares.
“I’m not attached to him.” I wave them both off and point my fork at Rya. “And stop trying to use me as a pawn to get your husband all uppity about you hitting a club.”
She casually shrugs. “Have to keep it saucy in the bedroom.”
Honey gasps. “Oh my gosh, no. As if you two need any encouragement. I spent time with them before Crue gifted me the apartment on the floor below them, and I couldn’t sleep because of how loud they were! No wonder you got pregnant so fast,” she teases, and Rya nudges her.
“I don’t need to hear about keeping it fresh in the bedroom from the woman whose husband auctioned off her virginity.”
I gasp and look at Honey, whose cheeks go red. “We all have our things, okay?”
“You can do that?” I ask, intrigued.
“If you step further into this world, your mind will be blown,” Honey says with wide eyes, and we all laugh. I can’t imagine what it’s like to know about all of these things. But what I do know is that, although the fantasy of what they have is impressive, I need to do what I have always done—focus on myself.
CHAPTER 26
Will
Thomas is driving on the outskirts of Los Angeles, following my directions. I look down at my phone and flick through the photos and video footage I have of Alina. I don’t like being so far away from her. It’s unsettling to live only through my devices to watch her.