Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47223 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47223 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
She turns to her sister. “What’s taking so long? Are we almost ready to go?”
I stalk over to Kate, who retreats with every step I close in—until her back hits the wall.
“Stop it,” she demands. “I’m not intimidated by this…whatever your behavior is.” She gestures toward me, but when she swallows and her nipples stiffen, it’s obvious she’s affected. “I came to get my suitcase and tell you and Josh that you’re wrong. I’m nothing like Taylor. Not that it matters anymore. We’re done. I’ll see you Monday morning at the airport.” She leans around me to make eye contact with her sister. “Let’s go. Do you need me to get that?”
Before Kate can breeze past me, I grab her arm, then turn to Mariah, leveling her a silent demand for help.
“I’ll get it in a minute, Katie. You three talk first.” She nods her father’s way. “Come on, Dad.”
James gives Kate a somber smile, pats her shoulder, then heads for the exit, ushering Mariah out in front of him.
Once they’re gone, the door closes. Silence falls in their wake.
“Why are you doing this? We don’t have anything to say.” Kate raises her chin, all but daring me to refute her.
Lifting her in my arms, I settle her back against the wall. She squeals and fights—until I dip my head and seize her lips, stamping my mouth onto hers before I nudge her open, slide inside, and sweep in deep. Her breath catches. Her body goes taut. I fist the hair at her nape and pull until she offers me more with a trembling groan. Then I surge in deeper.
She stops fighting. Her lips soften. Her fingers creep up to grip my shoulders.
When she melts against me, I ease back. “We have a lot to say, baby girl. But I’ll start with I’m sorry.”
Josh nudges me to her side, then cradles her face in his hands and brushes a lingering kiss over her lips. “We’re sorry. Stay put, okay? Give us an hour. If you’re not happy after that and you still want to go, we won’t fight you.”
Kate presses her lips together, looking torn.
As he reaches for the key to the rental car, I grab yesterday’s T-shirt from my duffel nearby and slide it over my head, then pick up my wallet. “You’ll be here when we come back, right? If you’re not, we’ll hunt you down.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “One hour. And only because I want to hear you say you’re sorry a lot more.”
“You got it, sweetheart.” Josh lavishes another kiss on her pretty bow of a mouth before we hustle out the door, heading for the elevator.
“Think she’ll still be here when we return?”
He shrugs. “We’ll find out. I think it’s a fifty-fifty proposition. She’s stubborn, and we fucked up.”
I’m not convinced our odds are even that good, but it won’t matter. Come hell or high water, Kate Evans will be ours.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kate
Thirty minutes later, I quit fidgeting with my makeup and sigh. What am I doing here, knotted up about Josh and Marcus like some teenager with an irrepressible crush? After Derrick, I swore I would never hang my future happiness on any man again. Yet here I am, not only anxious but waiting around on two.
It’s ridiculous. I should go.
But they apologized, my hopeful heart points out. Something your ex never did…
Derrick’s version of an apology was to deliver polished explanations in a not-quite-remorseful tone. Josh and Marcus actually said the words and sounded sincerely contrite. And they kissed me like I’m their world.
They wouldn’t do that if you didn’t matter to them, right?
Maybe, but it wasn’t long before that they accused me of being like their callous ex and treating them like a fling. I thought that’s what we were having. No, that is what we were having—until I broke the rules and fell in love. Then, instead of asking about my feelings, they walked out. My battered heart isn’t okay with that.
Yet here I am, staying put like they insisted.
Because they broke the rules and fell, too. Josh said they love you! After all, would they have been upset about you treating them like the secret, post-divorce booty call they accused you of being if they didn’t want more?
As reasonable as that sounds, they left abruptly again…and here I am, hanging my future happiness on them.
It’s terrifying.
I slam down my tube of lipstick. I need to think past my hopes and fears and figure out what’s best for me. Which choice would keep me truest to myself?
On the one hand, I made an egregious error, both in starting this workplace fling and losing my heart. And if I was purely using logic, I would leave—Hawaii, Force Financial, and this relationship.
But love isn’t logical. If Josh and Marcus truly love me—like Derrick never did—why would I just give up? Every time I talk to Mariah, I see how happy she is. How grounded and protected Todd makes her feel. I want that for myself. Now that it might be within reach, should I really throw in the towel?