Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Her mouth dropped open.
“Yeah, I know. It wasn’t one of my finest moments.” I grabbed my face. “Just remembering now makes me want to die of embarrassment.”
“And Ledger turned you down because of Chance?”
“I forget how smart and perceptive you are.”
“You have to be when you’re raised by all men.”
I chuckled.
“Chance seems fine with everything now, though.”
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s coming around.”
“He would have come around back then too.”
“Probably, but your brother didn’t want to risk losing his friendship, so he chose him over me.”
“Is that why you stopped visiting?”
“Yeah.”
“That makes sense, but are you sure you’ve forgiven him? Maybe that’s what’s holding you back?”
“I thought it was that, but it’s not. I can wholeheartedly say that I have.”
“Do you love him?”
I nodded again. “I do.”
“Does he know that?”
I shook my head.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t say it to him.”
“But you can say it to me?”
“I guess.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“You’re doing it right now by just listening to me.”
Cove sat at the other side of the table. “Everything alright?”
Haven responded, “Just men trouble.”
“Ugh! Don’t I know it. Your brother is being extra controlling today. You know he said my dress was too short?”
“Hey,” I remarked, “I made that dress.”
“That’s what I said, but what can you do with these Beckham men. I swear they’re all cut from the same cloth.”
I chuckled. She was right.
“Is Ledger giving you trouble?”
“Not any more than I’m giving him.”
“Do you want me to make Jace kick his ass?”
I love her.
“Not this time.”
“Are you okay? You don’t look okay.”
From the corner of my eye, something caught my attention, and it was only then…
I sprang into action.
Ledger
“Is Hazel okay?” Jace asked, handing me a beer from the fridge in the garage.
“I don’t know anymore.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Isn’t it always?”
“You guys look like you were getting along. You know, in bed.”
I laughed. “You knew?”
“Of course, I did. It’s obvious you guys are fucking, but sex always complicates things. Believe me, I know firsthand.”
“Can’t keep up with your nineteen-year-old bride, old man?”
“Fuck you.” He chuckled. “Most days, she can’t keep up with me.”
“I guess all those years in the military paid off in the end?”
“Something like that.” He opened his beer. “Now tell me what’s going on?”
“You mean aside from telling her I love her and demanding we get married?”
“Huh, that sounds awfully familiar. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the Beckham apple tree.”
“Except Cove told you she loved you.”
“Hazel hasn’t said it to you yet?”
“No.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Fuck, man. That hurts. Why is she pretending she doesn’t?”
“She’s not pretending anymore. She just hasn’t actually said it to me.”
“Do you know why?”
“If I did, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now.”
“Do you have any idea why she’s holding back?”
“I thought it was because she hadn’t forgiven me, but I know she has.”
“Ah.”
He knew about what happened. I told him a few months ago.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Hallie will be here before you know it. I’m sure that’ll help.”
“You see, that’s the problem. I want us to be married before she’s born.”
“She doesn’t want to marry you?”
“She hasn’t said.”
“You could always make her.”
“No, I don’t kidnap women like you do.”
“Woman.” He raised his finger. “It’s only been one, and now I’m engaged to her.”
If I thought my relationship with Hazel was a whirlwind, it didn’t hold a candle to their story. She was his perfect enemy turned lover, and now they were getting married.
“I’m sure it’ll work itself out. Maybe just give it some more time.”
“I’ve given it almost eleven years. How much more time does she need?”
“Women are fickle beings. Not to mention, a huge pain in the ass.”
“I’m at a loss. I don’t know what else I could do, and you’re right, Hallie will be here sooner than we realize, and I don’t want her to be born without us being married.”
“You always were a sappy bastard.”
I grinned. “This coming from a man who’s engaged to a woman half his age.”
“Do as I say, not as I do. Besides, I had to lock that shit down. You see Cove. She’s fucking gorgeous. What my girl wants, my girl gets, and for some reason, she loves my ass.”
“Yeah, her taste is definitely questionable, along with her sanity.”
“You’re one to talk. Have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror? Pot, meet kettle. Your baby momma is literally a mogul who got knocked up by a cowboy. Now that’s two ends of the spectrum if I’ve ever seen one.”
I was about to open my mouth to reply, but I overheard Hazel shout, “What the hell are you doing here?”
I snapped around, imagining it was Johnathan.
It was much worse.
It wasn’t that motherfucker.
Instead, it was…
Her parents.
Twenty-Eight
Hazel
I blinked, and Ledger was standing beside me. I placed my arm out in front of him because this wasn’t his fight; it was mine.