Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“That’s just it. You didn’t tell me. You didn’t tell me information about who I used to be—Oh God, am I like that now?”
“No, you’re an entirely different person. I mean, you’re you, still, but now I get to see the kind and witty side of you, and your generosity.” His arm goes out toward the window. “You gave that woman your coat without even thinking about yourself. You’re a paradox between then and now, an anomaly, which I find fascinating.”
Despite the nice things he’s saying, my heart has already sunk. “I was awful, and you think it’s fascinating?”
“You’re not listening to me, Tuesday.” I finally lower my guard and let him get close. Selfishly, I want him to hold me and make me feel better about being a bad person in the past.
His arms wrap around me, and he kisses my head. “I’m not fascinated by you because of who you were. I’m captivated by who you are.” Leaning back to find my eyes, he says, “I love you. All of you. Your past and you in the present. But I really look forward to loving you through our future.”
“Really?” I crack a smile that is, at best, minuscule.
“Really.”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. I love you and love all that too.” He chuckles. “I can’t believe I was rude.”
“Like I said, I think you were having a bad day. I was having one, too.”
I’ve asked him before, multiple times, why he helped a stranger. His answer has ranged from his mom raising him to help those in need to how could he not? All great responses that you would want to hear when asking this question.
Maybe it’s me who’s broken since I can’t seem to take someone at their word and keep asking, wondering if I’m going to get the same answers. What was my life like before that makes me so suspicious of everyone? “If I was so awful, why’d you save me?”
He rests back on the doorframe, his hands holding me by the waist. “I could have caught the guy who mugged you, but I thought you were more important than a handbag. So when faced with a split-second decision . . .” He pauses, but his eyes never leave mine. “I’ll never regret choosing you.”
My knees weaken under his words, his grasp of me firming, and his gaze gentle as he stares into my eyes. My heart clenches as my breath wraps around how he loves me. “You chose me,” I whisper just to savor the words.
“Yes.” His tone is low, kept so quiet, but something still seems to bother him. “I forced my way into your life on some whim that makes no sense on any level to any rational person.” Oh wow, he’s not holding back. “And fell madly in love with you.”
He’s exactly who he was when I met him, but now, instead of his heart being closed to the world, he’s living again. I fist the front of his shirt, pressing myself to him. “Is it so awful being in love?” I give him a teasing grin.
“There’s nothing better.”
Spinning us into the room, he walks me backward with his lips attached to mine. The back of my legs hit the bed, and I sit, falling with my arms wide to embrace this giant-hearted man.
We share I love you through kisses and moans, licks across our bodies and glistening sweat. But it’s when he says it with his body buried inside mine—a brush of my hair stuck to my cheek, eyes wild with ecstasy staring at me, and both of us still, so still that we can feel each other’s heartbeat—that’s when I know. He’s my soul mate.
“It must be so exciting to be around the fast cars,” I say with a pen light shining bright in my eyes.
“As a doctor,” Lark starts, “I can’t say I’m fond of fast cars. I’m nervous every time Harbor gets behind the wheel.” She lowers the light, but spots still fill my vision. After blinking a few times, her smile comes into view and then her eyes. Both are comforting. “Not so much in the city since there’s too much traffic to let the engine loose, but he meets his clients at a racetrack to hand off the keys.”
Dressed in dark-fitted jeans, muted gold flats, and a black blouse with full, long sleeves, she sits on the dining chair next to me with her hair twisted on top of her head. The messy knot complements the refined style of her outfit. She’s beautiful and approachable. She fits right in with the Westcotts I’ve met so far.
“Loch said Harbor’s custom cars cost a million and up, but I didn’t think about how fast they can go.”
“I try not to because it’s his dream and makes him happy. Happy is something I fully support.” She packs her pen in a pouch next to the Oxometer she used earlier on me. She says, “The company is only a few years old but already has a six-year waitlist.” From anyone else, that could come off as bragging, but with her, you can see the pride in her eyes and hear the love in her voice when she speaks of Harbor.