Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“I will. I promise.”
“I know you will,” Marcy says with a grin. “Now, tell me about the man out there. And how long have you been in love with him?”
My cheeks immediately grow hot as a nervous laugh bursts from my mouth. “What? I’m not—what are you even talking about?”
“Uh-huh,” she says dryly. “Lying ain’t your strong suit, kid.”
I quickly take a drink of my coffee, ignoring that it’s scalding my mouth as I try to hide my flushing cheeks and look of embarrassment behind my cup.
“I’m curious, Harlow. Who is he to you?”
A soft laugh passes my lips. “Honestly? He’s my ex-boyfriend’s father.”
Marcy’s eyes widen, and she can’t hide her look of surprise. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming,” she says. “But it sounds like an interesting story, so let’s hear it.”
Her eyes are sparkling, and she’s got a wide smile on her face. I know Marcy well enough to know that she’s not going to let it go until she gets what she wants. And what she wants right now is a story about me and a man I haven’t seen in a few years now.
Of course, barely a day goes by when I don’t think of him. But after I broke up with Micah, I had no reason to be at their house, so I honestly thought Hunter Weston would only live in my fond recollections for the rest of my life. This isn’t the way I wanted to see him again, of course, but at least I can take some comfort in knowing that he’ll be all right.
“There’s really no story,” I tell her. “I dated his son, Micah briefly. We were together for like less than a year. We broke up a few years ago, and I haven’t seen Hunter since.”
“He clearly made an impression on you.”
Try as I might, I can’t keep the smile off my face. “I always had a crush on him.”
“Well, you’re free and single, and I didn’t see a ring on his finger,” Marcy says. “So, maybe it’s fate bringing you two together again.”
“Marcy, he’s two decades older than me.”
“And?”
“He’s old enough to be my father.”
“Listen, kid, the older you get, the less age matters. You’re an adult. He’s an adult,” she says. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned doing this job as long as I have, it’s that life is short. Very short. And we’ve only got one go ‘round, kid. If something or somebody makes you happy, it’s on you to go out there and take it. If you don’t, you may spend the rest of your life wondering what if? That’s not how I’m going to go out. What about you?”
I sit back in my chair and take a sip of my coffee, Marcy’s words rattling around in my head. I’m twenty-three years old, so my mortality isn’t something I’ve really given a lot of thought to. But she’s right. Life is short, and it’s on us to find those things that make us happy, that make us fulfilled, whether it be a physical thing or a person, grab onto them, and never let them go.
Like Marcy, I don’t want to leave this life wondering, what if?
3
HUNTER
My head pounds, and every square inch of my body aches. I feel like I got hit by a fucking train. I look around and quickly realize I’m in a hospital. Bits and pieces of what happened to land me there in the first place float through my brain.
“About time you woke up, you lazy piece of shit.”
I struggle to sit up, groaning as agony tears through my body, but I grit my teeth and manage. Darnell is sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed. He stands up and comes around to the side of the bed, then lays a hand on my arm.
“Good to see you back among the living, brother,” he says.
“Good to be among the living.”
“You remember what happened?”
I nod. “You get the woman out? Gloria, I think her name was.”
“She’s banged up but alive,” he says. “Thanks to you.”
“Best I recall, you were there too, despite me ordering you to get the fuck out.”
His smile is wide and bright. “And let you get all the glory? There’s a picture in the paper of me coming out of that fucking building with the woman in my arms. The news is calling me a goddamn hero. Can you believe that shit?”
My body seizes up in pain as I laugh. Closing my eyes, I lean back against the pillows and take short, shallow breaths, giving the pain ripping through me a few beats to subside. When it eventually does, I open my eyes again.
“Good for you, man,” I say. “You deserve the recognition.”
“You’re the one who pulled her out. Gloria told me what went down in there,” he replies. “If anybody’s a hero here and deserves the shine, it’s you.”