Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“Oh,” Mrs. Roja said in an ominous voice that made me faintly alarmed for Jacob, “that won’t be an issue. I’ll be having a talk with my son about responsibility, and I assure you he will be most eager to do whatever you wish. You have my word.”
I let out a mental sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Ramón,” she snapped. I darted a glance at the handsome, brooding man now staring at me in a rather disconcerting manner. “Pick up that money. This poor young woman is going to think all the men in this family are ill-mannered animals. Dios, wait until I tell your mother about this.”
I gave Ramón a good glare as he picked up the money he’d thrown at me, then mouthed the word ‘asshole’ at him.
Instead of looking pissed or embarrassed, he smiled at me suddenly in weird way that made the hair on the back of my neck want to stand up. His entire face softened, and I swear his dark eyes were near dancing with laughter. When his gaze dropped to my lips, my stomach filled with a thousand tingling, bursting bubbles. Something…powerful passed between us as he stood and gave me a long, slow look. Before I could protest, he crossed the room and took my hand gently in his own.
The moment our skin touched, a riot of pleasant tingles raced through me. I found my breath picking up. This close, I could smell his sinfully spicy cologne, could admire the perfectly sculpted bow of his upper lip. He had a great mouth, almost pouty, the kind that reminded me of stars from the silent movie era. I bet those lips would feel like velvet against my own. Soft as pillows.
“Please, Joy,” he said in a low voice that seemed to flick my clit. “Accept my apologies. I—well, there is no excuse for the way I treated you. I was an ass. You can smack me if you want. I know if my mother was here, she’d be whacking the back of my head right now for being such a—what did you call me? Ah, yes, an arrogant dick, wasn’t it?”
“No biggie. I mean you aren’t the first guy who looked at me and assumed I was a whore.” My voice came out sounding like I gargled with glass as he continued to hold my hand, my brain short circuiting as I tried to do something other than think about how hot he was, how sparks seemed to flare across my skin at the simple caress of his thumb.
He flinched like I’d hit him in the gut, then gently squeezed my hand before dropping it. “I normally have much better manners than this. Life has been…not good, and I haven’t been sleeping much, but that’s no excuse for the way I treated you.”
“Really, it’s okay.”
“Ramón,” Mrs. Roja interrupted him. “Why don’t you join us after you find Jacob? You can give Ms. Holtz a tour of the grounds to make up for your earlier behavior. Or maybe you could take her out for dinner before she has to drive back.”
Just like that, he went cold, as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on his emotions. “Nah, I gotta run.”
Mrs. Roja looked between myself and her nephew, her hands clasping together as concern tightened her brow. “Are you sure?”
He replied in Spanish, obviously assuming because of the blonde hair and blue eyes I had no idea what he was saying. “Don’t push me. You know I can’t go there, especially with someone like her.”
Stung, I tried to pretend I didn’t comprehend his hurtful words as Mrs. Roja replied, “But she’s sweet, Ramón, and—”
“I said no,” he snapped, but I swear he looked at me for a moment with a longing so intense it made my breath catch. “No.”
I pretended to be confused by their exchange as Ramón strode away and Mrs. Roja forced a smile. “I’m so sorry about that. We suffered a loss in the family. My great-nephew passed away, and Ramón loved him very much. He’s very protective of his family and tends to assume the worst in people.”
“It’s okay,” I fibbed, my pride and feelings still stung by Ramón’s harsh words. “I’m very sorry for your loss. Maybe that’s why Jacob’s having some issues in school. If you want, I can check around for a good therapist at school, if he wants.”
“You are very kind,” Mrs. Roja said with a thoughtful look. “Come with me, Ms. Holtz and have some coffee. I’d like to talk with you more about your work at ASU while we wait for Jacob to arrive.”
Chapter 1
Nine Months Later
I was pissed, so pissed I don’t think my butt cheeks had unclenched since I read the notice taped to our front door. I couldn’t believe that Kayla, my third roommate and an all-around selfish bitch, hadn’t paid our rent on our apartment in four months. We were going to be evicted.