Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Then why did it feel so good?
“Doesn’t matter. We’re going to talk.” The words come out stuttering and stalled, like he’s forcing them out of his throat. “I hate talking, but with you, it’s all I seem to want to do.”
I raise my eyebrows for a second and he rolls his eyes.
“Okay, that’s not the only thing, but it’s something I’ve never wanted to do with anyone else.”
I release a sardonic chuckle, feeling the tears start to sting the corners of my eyes again. “It’s okay. I get it. Let’s not talk. I’m tired of talking. I don’t want to hear you say we can’t be together. You were straight with me from the beginning, and I’m just a stupid, stupid girl.”
“Don’t ever call yourself stupid,” he growls, his massive hands resting on the sides of my head, encasing me with their power as I squeeze the metal clip in my hand.
His gaze makes my heart thunder. It’s like being trapped by a mountain lion, one that’s decided I’m his next meal. And I’m too confused to fight it.
“Don’t ever put yourself down,” he repeats. “You’re perfect. Too perfect. I have no right to ask anything of you, my Daisy, but I’m going to anyway, because I can’t imagine a future without you in it. I love you, baby. Like, love you, love you, you get it?”
I open my mouth, then hesitate as I catch sight of a tiny movement on the top of his shoulder. I squint, knowing instantly what’s coming.
Heat blasts through me, but for once, it’s not fear, it’s just… annoyance.
I clip the carabiner back on my belt loop on a huff.
I’m annoyed at the spider crawling down the sleeve of Price’s gray t-shirt, but I’m more annoyed at my own naiveté about summer flings and no strings.
Seems there’s no such thing.
I reach up and flick the black creeper off his arm, watching it fly in an arc through the air, then cross my arms. A crow caws in the distance as I throw it all out there. “What about the TV deal? That’s sort of a non-starter for a relationship. I saw how much they’re offering you, Price, it’s a lot. I saw the…no fraternization clause.”
“And it doesn’t mean a fucking thing if I don’t have you. I know you have plans too. Dolly told me. I’m ready to fit in with them. Me and Hailey. It will be a different kind of adventure, but one I want more than all the ones that came before. Whatever you want, we’ll make it work. I’ll get a job as a fucking bank teller. I don’t care, none of it means anything if you aren’t with us.”
I shake my head, turning up my hands. “You said you would never let Hailey grow up in the city. She’s happy here.”
He winces, as if at some deep pain. “She’s happy with me. And she’s happy when she’s with you. I’ll figure it out. I’ll keep you both safe, even if it means I never let you out of my sight. I… I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t be without you. And I can’t take away the things you want in your life.”
I watch him struggling to reconcile his own needs and what he wants for his daughter, and suddenly it all becomes clear.
What am I even crying for?
“You said you love me,” I say in a kind of daze, and he nods. A smile starts to tickle at the corners of my lips, and I wipe at my drying eyes, his massive hands still clutching my head like he’s afraid I might fly away somewhere. “You love me?”
“I love you, Summer. Daisy. Little Sis. Baby. All of you. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I live on instinct and my instincts have never been wrong.”
“And you don’t care about the TV deal?”
“I’ll tear up the contract in an instant if you just say the word. I’ll find a way to pay Ted back for his investment in me and this place. There’s more than one network out there. Shit, I’ve had all sorts of companies after me for endorsements for years. I always thought it was a sell out to do that, but I see it differently now. I’m not poor by any means, but I made promises. I’ll figure it all out. If I can climb my way out of a swamp in the Amazon with no compass and a broken arm, I can do this. Hailey too, she’s toughened me up in ways I didn’t know I needed to be tough. I can take on anything, even living in a city. With her. With you. None of it means anything without you. You’ve made me want a different life. A life I never imagined before you.”