Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 56462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
My stomach grumbles at the thought of a good home-cooked meal, and I realize that I haven’t eaten in well over twenty-four hours. “Okay,” I tell him. “But just so you know, when I commit to ignoring someone, I really commit.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he says, and with that, he scoops me out of the snow and starts making the trek back, heading past the curious reindeer and finally through the brand-new side entrance, courtesy of the pretty beige armchair laying in the snow.
15
NICK
FEBRUARY
There’s no doubt about it. When Mila Morgan commits to something, she really fucking commits. We’re six weeks into the year and seven weeks into our new living arrangement and not a single fucking word has come out of her devilish mouth.
We’ve quickly learned how to be around each other without communication. Well, at least one of us attempts to communicate while the other pretends she isn’t listening. Sure, I understand why she’s doing it. She wants to punish me for stealing her away from the life she had in New York, but I’m not sorry. The moment she finally decides to give this place a real chance, she’ll understand why I did it.
Mila Morgan belongs here. She belongs with me, and despite what she might think right now, she is mine and I am hers.
Our days pretty much consist of Mila pretending she’s asleep when I get up to work. Only, joke’s on her because most nights I stay up watching her sleep, and the moment she’s in a deep sleep, she’ll roll right into my arms and stay there all night.
I head off to work, figuring out all the ins and outs for the new year of gift giving while Mila spends her days with the reindeer. She didn’t come right out and ask, but she wanted to know how to care for them, so I showed her exactly what to do, and she loves it. Every day there’s a smile on her face, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that the only thing she won’t do is muck out the stalls. She leaves all that shit for me to deal with. Fair enough, though. I didn’t ask her to take on that responsibility. She does it because she wants to.
The moment I get home, I make dinner and watch the way she watches me, all while she’s pretending not to even notice me in the house. She’s learned my routine. When I prefer to eat. What foods I like, right down to what time of day I like to shower. It also doesn’t go unnoticed that every time I finish in the shower and walk into my walk-in closet to dress, she’s always right there, sitting on our bed as though she doesn’t possibly have anything else to do. And the second my towel disappears, her eyes are only for me.
Every day is the same, and despite how she still refuses to talk to me, I sense her peace. She likes it here, and I like having her here. I like her in my space. I like her in my home. In my bed. But most of all, I like just being able to see her every fucking day. I’ve gone from years of craving her to getting her every day, even if all she has to offer is to unintentionally hold me while she sleeps.
APRIL
Grabbing my shit, I go to leave for the day and come to a standstill as I find Mila blocking my exit. She’s usually out with the reindeer every morning, and when I leave, I watch her out in the field as she teaches them how to trust her.
I won’t lie, I’m starting to get really fucking jealous of the attention she gives them. I’d give anything to see her smile at me the way she smiles at them, but beggars can’t be choosers, and she’ll eventually come around. She just needs to understand it first. It might have been a selfish act for me to bring her here, but I was granting her wish and giving her exactly what she wanted. If only she realized that. She’s too busy blaming me and too fucking stubborn to see that I was doing exactly what she asked. I guess that’s exactly what I love about her.
“You need something?” I ask, not bothering to try and figure it out this time. Usually she just stares at me until I make suggestions about what she could possibly need, but not today. I haven’t heard her voice in four fucking months, and it’s killing me.
Mila just stares, but I can play this game a lot longer than she can. She’s got no idea what stubborn really means, and she’s playing with the fucking master.
She glances away, not willing to meet my stare, and I step right into her, watching as she sucks in a breath. Her hands twitch at her sides as if physically restraining herself from reaching out and touching me. “What do you need, Mila?”