Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
I reached for the plate of cheesecake. “You grandmother certainly doesn’t seem like the knitting type. So, who taught you?”
“Eudora Weeks. When I was fresh out of college, she was as much a mother to me and Miles as his mom and my grandmother.”
That was interesting. I needed to meet this woman. I offered Ford a bit of cheesecake before asking, “How did you meet her?”
“Miles has known her as a family friend all his life. He and her daughter were very close.” Ford offered me a bite in return, and I couldn’t help but smile at the memory of us eating cheesecake at the bar on what now seemed like our first date.
“Did they date?”
“Only when it was expedient for them to pretend to date to ward off others.”
I could imagine that happened more than once. “Does Miles knit?”
“No, and he didn’t even know I did for a long time.”
“You wanted to keep your grandmotherish tendencies secret?”
I snorted. “I already read all the time. He didn’t need to know more. Funnily enough, I never thought of it as acting like a grandma, considering my example.”
“What about your maternal grandmother?”
“I never knew her.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ford scooped up the last bit of cake and lifted his fork to my mouth. “As you can see, I’ve done alright.”
“That doesn’t mean things were easy for you.”
“I don’t think they were for you either.”
“Shit. Are we fucking bonding over childhood trauma?”
Ford grimaced. “Let’s not.”
“Will you get in trouble with your grandmother if I stay in your room?”
He glared at me. “I have no intention of letting you out of my sight. What if I need more of you in the night?”
“I thought you didn’t want to fuck in your bedroom.”
Ford smiled. “I’m not sure I care anymore.”
If I could have gotten hard again that fast, I would have. The thought of waking up to him touching me made me dizzy.
“You like that, don’t you?”
I nodded.
“Let’s get cleaned up and go back downstairs. We’ll see what we’re up for later.”
For all that I wanted to fuck him again, we were both exhausted and fell asleep as soon as we got into bed. He did fulfill my fantasy by rousing me for a quick mutual jerk-off session. I felt like we’d only been back asleep for a few minutes when his phone buzzed, waking us up.
“It’s Miles,” he said, his voice rough from sleep.
I half-listened to their conversation, but my mind was whirling with the memory of telling Ford—a man, my rival, the one I’d turned down so rudely six months ago—that I loved him. He’d accepted it. He hadn’t laughed in my face or told me I was crazy or said this was nothing but fucking. He’d said he loved me first. Was that possible? Could I be that lucky?
There’d been something that pulled me toward him from the moment I met him, even before he made it very clear how interested he was, but I was terrified. I’d thought I’d just wanted to get the better of him. I’d thought he’d had it so easy. He worked when he didn’t even need to, then dared to act like he had bad days. I’d hated him for it, but the moment he stepped into a room, I’d been hyper aware of him. Getting a reaction out of him became my goal every time we were in the same room. The problem was, I’d been reacting to him just as strongly, if not more so.
When he ended his call with Miles, I didn’t wait for him to tell me what was up. “I know this situation is serious, and we’re in a hell of a lot of danger, but I’m so fucking glad I got handed this lawsuit. I’m so glad you’re stubborn as hell and so is Miles, because if I hadn’t been pushed to the limit, I might never have had the courage to kiss you.”
“Wow. That’s…I’m willing to push you to your limits anytime.”
“I bet you are.”
“Seriously. I’m thankful too.”
“So, what did Miles say?”
“He wants me to come meet with him and Carter so we can go over the plan.”
“Just you?”
Ford nodded. “You’re the main target, at least so far.”
“And he hates me.”
“Once he realizes you care about me and you aren’t going to ghost me when this is over, he won’t.”
“And if I did ghost you?”
“He’d have to fight me to be the one to kill you.”
“Wow. That’s….” I pulled him to me and kissed him, hard and demanding, letting him know I wanted to possess him fully. “I won’t. I…. Nothing has ever felt this good.”
“Damn right.”
“Are you really going to leave me here on my own?”
“My grandmother will be gone most of the day. You can go see my grandfather or hide out in your room. I’ll eat breakfast with you before I leave, and I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”