Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 142801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Because you would’ve asked questions I wasn’t ready to answer.”
She rears back as though slapped, but I don’t give her a chance to speak.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with that side of the place.”
“So why buy it?” She looks at me as though I’m suddenly alien. “You can’t expect me to believe it’s purely to spite him?”
“It’s also a sound business proposition,” I answer defensively. Words twist in my throat, though I force them back, swallowing over guilt and anger. “But there was a time I would’ve burned the place to the ground if I could.”
She looks away, horrified.
“Not with the animals in it, for God’s sake.”
Her expression falters. Is that pity I’m seeing? “You really hate him that much?”
“Yes, I hate him.” But perhaps not as much as I admire Eve. But that can’t be true, can it? “I hate him even more after tonight.” I take a step toward her, cupping my hand to her silky cheek. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there, so sorry I—” She silences me, her forefinger pressed to my lips.
“Like I said, I needed to see him. I needed confirmation that I don’t truly know who he is.”
“I should’ve been with you.”
“Well, you weren’t.” She pulls away, begins to walk again. But then she turns her head over her shoulder, the tiniest of smiles playing on her face. “And then you were there.” I hang onto that smile, store it inside me as we walk in silence for a while. “The animals,” she begins again. “I know I can’t defend every cause, but I can’t help you if you’ve no concern for them.”
“Do you really see me that way?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what you’re thinking from one minute to the next.” She folds her arms across her chest. Perhaps a defense? But the night is also cool. And that is a very thin dress.
“Right now, I’m thinking you look a little chilled,” I say as I slip off my jacket and drape it across her shoulders. “I’m also thinking you misunderstand me. Even without the weight of the law, I would never condone animal cruelty or mistreatment. I can’t honestly say what will happen to the park, but whatever the outcome, you have my word that their fate will be a good one.”
“I’m glad. I didn’t lie to Mandy, just so you know. I mostly skirted around the truth.”
But he would’ve made his own assumptions, and that was the whole point.
We fall quiet again, making me very conscious of her breath and the phantom swish of her dress.
“You looked so fierce.” At her sudden whisper, I glance down. “How did it feel, playing the hero?”
“Instead of the villain?”
“You aren’t all bad, Oliver.” Her words sound like consolation.
“Or even half-bad?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she replies, fighting a twitch to her lips.
Is it my mood or hers that I find so bewildering?
“Oliver Deubel.” She gives a slow shake of her head. “My hero.”
“You’re not meant to be flattered.” My words are hoarse, and my feet slow to a stop all by themselves. “Standing up for you should be nonnegotiable. A bare minimum.”
“I guess I wouldn’t know.”
“Because you don’t need anyone to look after you, do you?” I shouldn’t be sliding my hands through her hair. I should be frightening her off, because this feeling in my chest doesn’t belong to me. This need. This . . . fear. What could’ve been.
“You’re the one who intervened.”
A noise stems from my throat. Not quite a scoff.
“The proof is in the pudding.” I suppose she thinks I’m being noble as she twists my hand, exposing my swollen knuckles. “But let me ask you this,” she adds soberly. “Did you do it for me or for Lucy?”
I’m not so noble, and her jealousy is unnecessary. I should tell her what happened, but I can’t bring myself to utter the truth. What I owe Lucy comes before my own happiness. What I owe Eve . . .
“I did it because he deserved it.”
Not enough. Her gaze drops. “Well, that’s not flattery, but I’m not sure it’s the truth either.” She turns and makes to pass me. My fingers slide around her upper arm, stopping her in her tracks.
“I’m no one’s idea of a hero. If you knew the things I said to him, things no man should ever utter about any woman, let alone a woman he respects.” A woman he longs to kiss. “A woman he’s supposed to protect.”
“I don’t need your protection.”
“Perhaps it’s protection from yourself you need.”
“Why? What could you possibly have said?”
She shivers as I lean closer and bring my lips to within an inch of her ear. I can’t bring myself to tell her about Lucy, but I can frighten her off. For her own sake. For mine. Because I want her too much.