Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Dad texted you?” Mia waved me off. “Oh, he’s fine. He and Mom are both aware of the situation. I’m sure he’s just pulling your leg.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You two are so weird sometimes. He acts like the sun rises and sets with you when you’re not around, you know,” she pointed out. “Pretty sure he brags about you to his friends and co-workers more than his own Grammy-award-winning daughter.”
I didn’t respond, mostly because I wasn’t sure what to say. Charlie Conaway had saved my life in more ways than one. He’d given me a home, a ticket to a career that was otherwise out of reach, and a chance to make something of myself.
He didn’t just demand my respect — he’d earned it. There was no one in this world I wanted to make proud more than him.
But I also held a deep, confusing resentment for the man who had given me so much.
Because as much as he believed in me, as much as he maybe even loved me, he also saw me as a threat to his daughter.
He always had.
I cleared my throat, deciding tonight was not the night to dwell on any of it. I’d get my lashing from Charlie in the morning.
For now, I was alone with Mia, and I planned to make the most of it.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Marci has some family who live in St. Pete, apparently. She’s going to dinner with them and then staying at their place tonight. James is asleep, I think, and Hunter is on guard. The rest of their team is on the perimeter.”
Suddenly, Mia’s stomach growled so loudly it overshadowed the thunder outside.
I arched an eyebrow as her cheeks turned pink.
“And what are your dinner plans?”
“A chef was supposed to come to the house, but I canceled her.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Not hungry.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, her stomach growled even louder.
“Clearly,” I said on a laugh.
She sighed, finally locking her phone and sliding it away. “Okay, I just didn’t want to have another stranger in the house. If it was my chef back home, it would have been different. I know her. I don’t have to perform for her. But I’m…”
“Tired,” I finished for her, my voice soft.
Her shoulders slumped a little, and she nodded.
I couldn’t imagine it. Sure, there was some fame that came with being a professional hockey player, but it was nothing compared to the life Mia led. I still held onto a bit of normalcy. I could live alone, could go out without getting mauled, could shop for my own groceries without having more than maybe a few people asking me for autographs.
But Mia? She had an entire team of people who were around her constantly.
Security guards. Agents. Publicists. Stylists. Label reps… the list went on and on.
Even if she stayed in the privacy of her own home or a vacation rental like this, she still had people around her all the time.
I didn’t blame her for wanting a night of peace and quiet.
But I felt my chest tightening like a protective bear at the thought of her not eating.
“I was going to order something in,” she said. “But I might just go to bed and eat in the morning.”
“It’s six o’clock,” I said.
Her stomach rumbled again, and I chuckled, knocking my knuckles on the countertop.
“I’ll cook for you.”
“What?” Mia instantly shook her head, her brown eyes wide as if the idea horrified her. “You don’t need to do that. I’m sure you have plans.”
“I’m here for the weekend, remember?” I asked her, gesturing my arms wide. “Besides, you know you love my cooking.”
“I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that. It’s rush hour, and you’d have to go to the store.”
“Oh, what a crisis.”
“You’ve already done so much for me today.”
“Yeah, because kissing you was a real hardship.”
“It’s storming, and—”
“Woman,” I growled, flattening my palms on the granite countertop and lowering my gaze to meet hers. “Shut up and let me feed you.”
I arched a brow when it looked like she was going to finish her argument, warning her without words not to even try. And only when she let out a sigh of resignation did I push back off the counter.
“I’ll be back before you know it. You just relax,” I said, shoving my feet into my sneakers and swiping my keys out of the bowl by the door.
“Relax,” she echoed. “What’s that?”
I smirked, pointing at her from the doorway. “It’s an order. Give the phone a rest. Don’t think about the album or the tour for the whole half hour it’s going to take me to get what I need.”
The corner of her mouth tilted, and she hopped off her barstool before meeting me at the door. Surprisingly, she wrapped her arms around my neck, crushing me in a fierce hug.
Jasmine and honey.