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)
“Ooof. That’s brutal. What about your sister?” I ask, and the question is out there before I think better of it. Was that tactless to ask, considering the exchange we had at the party?
“She’s good. She’s actually married.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. Then why is she pining over Will? I hadn’t even checked to see if she was wearing a ring. “Wow, I didn’t think she was married with the way she acted toward Will.”
“Oh no, she got married last week. She’s on her honeymoon now. And not that I’m advocating for her, but Will is a touchy subject for her. It took her months to move on from him.”
He says it like that makes it right. It actually makes it worse that she was sad about another man while she was about to marry another. I hope one day when I get married, I’ll never be like that. I want the man to be just as obsessed with me as I would be with him. Especially if I chose to marry them. My thoughts of marriage seem to dwindle more and more in my future.
“Nice,” is all I can say.
“Yep. Will has that effect. He fucks them, leaves them, and they end up married. So maybe, in a weird way, he’s a good luck charm.”
I laugh at that. A good luck charm? Will? Please. “You know of others to prove this theory?” I ask.
“Yep, one of my assistants as well. She’s married now, too.” I bite the inside of my cheek, imagining the way his head would inflate if he heard this. “You may be lucky next.” And the way he says it makes me believe he’s hoping to be that lucky person. I don’t see it as good luck as Steven does. I see it as Will telling them how it was going to be, and that’s it. Good for them, they got married later.
“Steven, I don’t know if I’m exactly dating material, let alone marriage material,” I say, trying to subtly let him down.
“You don’t know until you try,” he says optimistically. His phone begins to buzz in his pocket. When he fishes it out, his smile widens. “That’s the first real estate agent, Luke. He’s a good friend of mine. Are you ready to meet him?”
I smile appreciatively, not entirely comfortable with how he boycotted my subtle way of letting him down. But I’m equally excited to find the perfect shop space. Not working on a project is spiraling me into a version of myself with which I’m not entirely comfortable.
CHAPTER 52
Will
Ihit the cue ball and sink two solid-colored balls. I then sink another. And another.
River sighs. “You might as well be playing pool on your own at this point if you’re not going to even let me have a turn.”
I sink the eight ball. End of game. Another win.
I flash an arrogant smile that doesn’t hold any humor. Nothing does since Alina screamed at me over two weeks ago. I know she’s safe after the fire, but how can I face her after she knows the ugliness of my truth? Besides, for just a second, I thought… I wondered what it might be like to have a life with her instead of the one I’d imagined with Hayley.
It felt like my path was correcting its own course with the way everything happened. Making sure I wasn’t being misguided away from my vows to Hayley.
Nobody in the rundown bar has approached us since we walked in. I wanted somewhere quiet, unseen and not memorable as I drank away my sorrows.
So if I feel like this with Alina, why do I feel like I’m mourning for my wife all over again? I don’t get it. For the first time in a long time, I’ve sat in my misery for the past two weeks. I’ve mainly tried to drown out my sorrows with liquor.
River licks his lips anxiously. “I can’t do this anymore. You can’t stay like this, man. You either run after her or throw yourself back into work, but you can’t keep dragging me out every night so you can drink yourself into oblivion.”
I throw back the whiskey just to make a point of his previous comment.
“It’s better this way,” I say.
He sighs as he leans against the bar stool. “For who? So you originally found her because of a job, but you chose her over the money. So why should her finding out about it be any different?”
“That’s not the problem here, and you know it,” I grit out through my teeth. The ghost of my wife stands between us. Neither of us can see her, but it’s always the presence felt when he brings up any mention of a future with Alina.
His shoulders sag as I go to the bar and order another drink. As I’m waiting, I turn to where I left River. He’s racking up the balls for another game.