Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“He’s awesome. I think you should send Denny and Lacey a thank you basket because you, my friend, have hit the jackpot.
“Daisy, I would expect that from Jilly, but you? He could be a damn serial killer for all we know.”
“Oh please, you know your brothers spent the whole night trying to find any and everything they could on him.”
“And?”
“For one, he’s never been married, but he did once have a long-term girlfriend that lasted a few years after college. If anyone would know about his peccadilloes it would be her, but apparently, all she’s ever said is that they broke up because he wasn’t ready to settle down and have kids, and she was.”
“Really? Who was she?”
“I can’t remember her name exactly, but Bri said her dad was the CEO of some Fortune five hundred company, and she and Garrett went to school together, and everyone expected them to get married, but things didn’t work out that way.”
“It doesn’t matter who she is; what matters is that he was in a committed relationship, and he and the woman still remained friends after going their separate ways, which means he wasn’t abusive or anything.”
“Remained friends?”
“Now, Alyssa, don’t go getting all bent out of shape.” He must’ve felt me shooting daggers at him because he turned from his conversation with the boys to look at me. When he raised his brow at me I rolled my eyes at him and looked away.
He had the nerve to walk over and take my hand after making his excuses to the ladies. “I’ll bring her right back; excuse us.”
“Where are you taking me?” I pulled away once we were out of sight of the others.
“What upset you?” I guess I should be flattered that he knew me this well, but I wasn’t.
“What’s the deal with you and your ex being best friends?”
“Who? Natalie?”
“Oh, so you know exactly who I’m talking about.” That pissed me off so much I wanted to stomp my feet.
“She’s the only ex I have. All the other women I’ve slept with never made it into relationship territory. Are you jealous? I know you’re the jealous type, but you have nothing to worry about. I was with her for eight years and never asked her to marry me. Don’t pout, love. She’s not more important to me than you are, and I’ve only known you for a handful of days.”
That still wasn’t enough. I folded my arms and looked out to sea, wondering how far it was to swim back to shore. “I never wanted to have babies with her, but I spent all of last night imagining you swollen with my child.” That was a little better, but still.
“I won’t ever speak to her again if that’s what would make you happy.”
“Don’t do anything on account of me.” I happened to look up and caught him fighting not to laugh. “See, you’re laughing at me.” My eyes filled up with tears, and his whole demeanor changed.
“Hey, don’t do that. I won’t see her ever again. She hasn’t meant anything to me in years; we’re really just friends. She’s married with a kid, and her husband is a very nice guy. Come on, come ‘ere.” He pulled me into his arms for a hug.
It was his heartbeat that gave him away. It was wild and erratic, and I knew. Well, if I can knock him off kilter with crocodile tears, there’s no telling what I can achieve when I’m really upset. “Alyssa!” Why the hell did that sound like an admonishment? “You wouldn’t happen to be playing me, would you?” This son of a bitch.
“I am not!” I wiped my eyes and glared up at him. These tears have served me well all my life, and I’ll be damned if some trust fund baby with more money than sense was going to put an end to my reign. He put his arm around my neck and kissed my head again.
“Whether you are or not, you don’t need tears to control me. I’ll always do what’s best for you.” I so want to believe that, but what do I look like falling for this shit? I’m sure Mom thought the same when she married Dad.
“I know you have trauma from your parents’ divorce. Something you should know about my family; we mate for life. We see betrayal of any kind as beneath us because only the weak partake in such behavior. The fact that I was with someone for eight years and didn’t once ask her to marry me, and neither did I cheat in the relationship, should tell you something about how I feel about you.”
“And how is that?” I actually held my breath, only now realizing how important his answer was. I didn’t want it to matter. I’d made up my mind to treat this whole thing like a business transaction, even when little things about him were getting to me in ways I’d never allowed.