Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“You’re going to tell her?” Caleb questions. “While you’re both out of town?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Damn right. I don’t hide anything from her, and I don’t intend to ever start. That kind of shit kills relationships, especially with our career. I hate to be the one to tell her, but at the same time, I want it to be me too. I wouldn’t put it past Lucinda to run to the press, or hell, they could have been lurking in the shadows, and we didn’t see them. I want her to hear it from me.”
He claps a hand to my shoulder. “You’re a good man, Brock Williams. I meant what I said tonight. If it had to be anyone, I’m glad it was you.”
Not gonna lie. I have to swallow back some emotion welling in the back of my throat. “Appreciate that,” I manage to say as the elevator doors slide open.
We stop outside our doors. Our rooms are across the hall from one another. “You want me there when you talk to her?” he offers.
“Nah. I’ve got this. I’ll see you in the morning,” I say, scanning the keycard to my room.
“Not too early.” He points his index finger at me, wearing a grin before scanning his own card and disappearing into his room.
Kicking off my shoes, I plop down on the bed and pull up her number. I listen to it ring, but there is no answer. Instead, it goes straight to voice mail. Son of a bitch. I really wanted to talk to her tonight. “Hey, Sunshine. It’s me. Something happened tonight that I wanted to tell you about. Call me when you get this. It doesn’t matter how late. I love you.” I end the call and toss my phone on the bed. I can’t believe Lucinda and the nerve of her actions. I’m her daughter’s boyfriend, and she knows I am. For her to come on to me like that… to say the things she was saying to Caleb and to me, I’m repulsed. But it’s not just that. My heart hurts for my girl. I know what this is going to do to her, and I hate I have to be the one to deliver the hurtful news.
I feel gross after having her hands on me. Stripping out of my clothes, I head to the shower. The hot spray does wonders for my tired muscles. Too bad it does nothing for my mood. I’m dreading this phone call with Joey, but it’s the right thing to do. Turning off the water, I quickly dry off and slip into some sweats before turning off the bathroom light and making my way back to the bed.
I settle back against the headboard and check my phone—nothing from Joey. My nerves can’t take waiting, so I call her again. Only to get her voice mail for the second time. “It’s me again. First, I want to tell you I love you and I miss you, and if I don’t happen to get to talk to you tonight, I hope you sleep well. I called earlier to tell you that Caleb and I ran into your mom here at the hotel. It was… an experience. Let’s just leave it at that until I can talk to you. I love you, Sunshine.”
I sit here scrolling through my phone for the next hour, waiting for her call, and it never comes. Worry tries to settle in, but I push it away. I’m sure she’s sleeping, and her phone is probably on vibrate. She wasn’t expecting to hear from me tonight, so I’m just going to have to wait until in the morning to talk to her. I’m exhausted and need to get some sleep. Before I do, just in case she’s not sleeping and forgot her phone or something, I decide to give her a story, one she can either come home to or wake up to. Either way, both are going to be with thoughts of me.
Me: Once upon a time, there was a man who was living his best life. He had the career he always wanted, and he recently found the love of his life. Although his career takes him away from his love, there isn’t a moment she’s not on his mind. He can’t seem to think of anything else. In fact, all he can think about is coming home to her and showing her how much he’s missed her. He plans to spend a lot of time wrapped up in their bed making love to her.
Me: To be continued…
I wake with a start to the sound of fists pounding on my door. My eyes squint at the alarm clock to see it’s just after six. Holy hell, I feel as though I just closed my eyes an hour ago. It’s too damn early for whatever it is Caleb thinks he’s going to drag me along to.