Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
She wasn’t in that pit of demons at all.
My Nora was standing tall, her shoulders back, pissed all to hell and back—rightly so. And I was so fucking proud of her there wasn’t a parallel universe or alternate dimension out there in which I would have been able to suppress my smile.
My legs devoured the distance between us, and I wrapped her up in a bear hug, leaning back to lift her off her feet. “You are fucking incredible. Do you know that?”
“Put me down! I’m in the middle of a rant.”
I laughed—which, given the subject and situation, shouldn’t have been possible. But, then again, I’d seriously underestimated the power of Nora Stewart.
Setting her back on her feet, I waved an arm out. “By all means, carry on.”
And carry on she did. She cussed and raved, plotting out at least seven different elaborate plans to get rid of Jonathan Caskey.
And I sat on the stool, eating a cruller, grinning like a fool, and sipping on my coffee. All the while having no fucking clue how I could ever go back to a life without her.
Deep breath in.
Soft snore out.
Deep breath in.
Soft—
His arm twitched around my middle. I froze, holding my breath so as not to wake him.
I had no idea how we’d ended up in that position. On the couch. Me the small spoon. Camden curled behind me. However, I was in no rush to get out of it, either.
After I’d stopped ranting enough to hold a conversation, Camden and I had moved to the couch. I’d settled into my favorite corner with my legs stretched out across the neighboring cushion, and he’d sat on the opposite end, as far away from me as humanly possible. We came to the conclusion that Jonathan sucked, and I was thankful his investigator was looking into things. I was not in any way happy or comfortable knowing Jonathan had those tapes, but I wasn’t a scared and alone little girl anymore, so I took it in stride. It would definitely be the hot topic with my therapist over the following weeks though.
I’d turned on the morning news for background noise and it had seemed to immediately ensnare Camden. Though it had bored me to sleep. Literally. What? He’d woken me up early. A mid-morning nap had never been more necessary.
I had no idea how long I’d been asleep or how I’d woken up in the cuddly version of The Twilight Zone, but I was not complaining.
Or moving.
Or breathing at the moment.
His twitchy hand stilled.
And I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“How long have you been awake?” he asked, his voice gravelly and sexy from sleep.
Busted.
“Um…long enough to know you’re a mouth-breather.”
He barked a laugh and sat up, forcing me up with him. “It’s better than being a drooler like you.”
I slapped him with one of the throw pillows. “Lies.”
He stood up and stretched, his T-shirt lifting just enough to reveal a deep V of chiseled muscles disappearing into his waistband. I told myself not to stare.
Then I promptly stared.
And because it was my life and I seriously could not catch a break, he caught me.
“Eyes up here, Stewart.”
I flashed him a tight smile. “Sorry. Maybe leave this part out when you tell your girlfriend about me. Probably the spooning too. I’ve grown quite attached to my eyes and would hate to have her fly down here just to claw them out.”
“Oooh, a catfight. Will there be Jell-O involved?”
“Psh, in your dreams, buddy.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Your eyes are safe. I don’t have a girlfriend, Nora.”
“What? Yes, you do.”
His brows popped up. “You know something I don’t?”
“You told me last night you have a girlfriend.”
“Uh, no. I told you I wasn’t available. You assumed I had a girlfriend and I didn’t correct you. Big difference.”
For the way my jaw dropped, I probably looked like Wile E. Coyote. “So you lied to me instead of just telling me you weren’t interested.”
“No. I told you the truth. If I had told you I wasn’t interested, it would have been a lie.”
I prided myself in being a smart woman. Growing up the way I had, I’d been a critical thinker since I’d exited the womb. But I could honestly say I had not one fucking idea what the hell Camden was talking about.
“That makes zero sense.”
“Says the person who clearly hasn’t spent five years waiting for the woman they love to actually show up or reach out.”
“What?” I gasped, the pain obvious even to my own ears.
He waved me off. “Wipe that look off your face. It’s fine. I’m not trying to make this a big deal. It’s a self-preservation thing. You’re gorgeous. Of course I’m interested, but I can’t go down this road with you again, knowing it only leads in one direction. We’re friends. I’ve accepted it. It’s not like I’m sitting around, beating myself up over it anymore.”