Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Oh shit, Tessa,” Salem breathed.
A vat of distress dumped itself onto the already heavy atmosphere. I could feel the weight of Eden’s stare from the side.
I nodded. “He needs to show the court that he’s settling down and building a stable home. And he’s been so kind to me, so I offered to help him.”
“That’s…” Aster drew out.
“Complicated,” I supplied.
“Crazy and amazing and selfless.” Eden’s words were a breath, and she reached out and took my hand again. I shifted to look her way to find the concern written in her features. “But it’s a lot, Tessa. How long are you supposed to pretend like you’re marrying him? I can’t imagine anything related to a custody suit is going to be quick. It could be months…or years. Are you willing to sacrifice your freedom for that long?”
She didn’t have to say the rest of what she was thinking. I saw the implication of it in the tilt of her head.
After you’ve already sacrificed for years for Bobby.
She wouldn’t say it aloud, anyway. I knew she’d protect the secret I’d shared with her on Monday.
“I care about him.” It was the best way to explain it.
“I know you do…but you need to take care of yourself, too. And what happens when he gets his kids back? Do you just…break up? Isn’t that going to mess with their heads?”
Dread slithered beneath my skin.
I knew those were things Milo and I needed to discuss. We’d been so focused on the hope of getting them back that we hadn’t taken the time to address what would happen after.
It’d seemed logical in the shadows of his room.
But the daylight ushered in a thousand complications.
A groan grumbled from my throat. “I don’t even know. We haven’t planned it out yet. I just know that I want to help him, any way that I can.”
Aster leaned closer. “And you’re just living with him like this whole thing is real until God knows when? Aren’t you going to get tired of pretending? It seems like it’s too much to ask of you.”
My head shook. “I think the problem is how much I like being there.”
She tried to hide the glee lighting at the edge of her mouth. “You do like him, don’t you?”
“What’s not to like?”
All of it.
Everything.
All except for the undercurrent of darkness that curled around him like a building storm.
The ghosts that haunted him in the night.
But the truth was, I’d gladly take those on, too.
Crap.
I was screwed.
“You cannot be blamed, Tessa. The man is stupid hot.” Salem casually popped a chip into her mouth. “And you know the quiet ones are wild in bed.”
“Don’t tease me,” I whined.
“Someone needs to get laid, and she needs it hard.” She spoke no greater truth. “Maybe you can convince Milo to do you the favor since you’re giving up so much for him.” Salem sent me a salacious grin. “You know you want it.”
“Or maybe you go after what you really want, Tessa,” Eden cut into the joking, her voice serious.
I glanced at her. “And what do I really want?”
“You’re the only one who can answer that, but I remember not too long ago this really incredible friend telling me to take a chance. That the man I thought was all wrong for me, but who I couldn’t get off my mind, might be meant for me. That he might be my Ace.”
She’d been terrified of loving Trent. I mean, the guy was actually terrifying, so there was that. But together? There was something special about their connection. I’d pushed her. Told her she would never find what she was missing if she didn’t open herself to the possibility.
And I wanted that…someday, I wanted that.
My Ace.
Sadness stretched across my chest. Pain for Milo. For that hollowness I could feel echoing inside of him. “I doubt he could be my Ace, because I think he already lost his.”
And I didn’t want second best. I wanted someone who loved me with every fiber, the way I would love them.
I wanted passion.
Friendship.
An unending connection.
I wanted my person.
“I don’t know, Tessa. I’ve seen the way he watches you when we’re at the club, and believe me, it’s spicy,” Aster said.
I gave a small shrug. “I think he might be attracted to me, but his heart is all kinds of battered, and I’m pretty sure he’s boarded it up.”
“And if it wasn’t?” Eden asked.
“Then I’d hike that man like he was a mountain.” I waggled my brows, then cracked up.
“You are such a goober, Tessa McDaniels.” Salem laughed.
“Okay, hold up.” Aster lifted a hand. “We haven’t even talked about Karl, which is the whole reason I’ve been dying to talk to you. What happened? I honestly thought the three of us were going to have to take matters into our own hands. Tie him up and float him to the bottom of the sea where he’d never be found.”