Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to hurt you, Anneke.” A choked laugh spilled past her lips, and his lips twisted. “Sounds like the biggest fucking lie in the world, doesn’t it?”
Oh. Despite everything, the self-deprecating words had a smile wobbling over her lips, and she said shakily, “Kind of.”
“Thought so.”
And her heart skipped a beat because oh, dear God, but didn’t this feel just like the old times? Wasn’t this just like that one unforgettable summer when they’d enjoy countless banter, all the while struggling to ignore the sexual attraction sizzling between them?
“Doesn’t this—-”
“I remember—-”
They both stopped, neither of them expecting to speak at the same time – and about the same thing.
Marcus was the first one to recover. “Fuck.”
She couldn’t help laughing, couldn’t help tightening the hold on her phone. “Oh, Marcus.” Him and his swear words. No other man had sworn so much in her presence – not even her brothers. It was as if she projected such a strong “good girl” persona that people felt like they were swearing in the Virgin Mary’s presence if they did. But Marcus had been different from the very start. And she should hate it – but foolishly, it only made her special, always had – and apparently, it still did.
Maybe she was meant to be always a little foolish where this man was concerned.
“I missed that,” he muttered roughly.
She blinked. “Cursing?”
“No, bambina.” He couldn’t help grinning at her naïve guess, even as his chest constricted at the same time. How adorable she was, and Dio, he had missed that, too.
“Then what?” she couldn’t help asking.
“My name,” he answered simply.
Oh!
“I missed hearing you say my name, so damn much.”
And that was when she knew.
What she was doing now – it was the most dangerous thing in the world to her heart.
Anneke took a deep, shaky breath. “I think I—-”
But he didn’t let her finish, cutting her off, saying abruptly, “You asked me earlier what I was planning.” Because he knew it, too. Felt it, too. This was the most dangerous thing, for both of them.
“I want another chance.”
The words made Anneke want to cry and laugh at the same time. Crap. Oh, crap, crap, crap. She had a feeling he’d say something that crazy. And the crappiest thing was – she had also known such words would make her feel this way.
Light-hearted. Claustrophobic. Dizzy. Hopeful. Hopeless.
In one word: crazy.
“But this time, I want to court you, properly.”
And with every word he uttered, she just felt crazier and crazier. Court her? How strangely, wonderfully old-fashioned!
“Things happened too fast between us in the past, and it didn’t give us a chance to know each other properly. To understand each other.”
“Do I even get a choice with this?” she asked helplessly.
“No.” His voice was quiet, firm, but oh, the tenderness that underlined the word—-
It killed her, and he went on killing her, in that same painfully tender tone.
“I want a chance to prove to you how much you mean to me. How you’re the only woman in the world to me—-”
“Do you know how crazy that sounds?” she interrupted wildly. “Do you?”
“Yes.” Marcus’ voice was hollow. “I do. But it’s the truth.”
She laughed wildly, choking out, “And that’s all you have to say?”
Instead of answering her question, he went on an altogether different line, saying quietly, “I never tried to approach you the past year because I thought you needed time to heal.”
“A fucking understatement.” The words just burst out of her, and Anneke was appalled right after. She had never sworn so in her entire life.
But it was as if Marcus hadn’t heard the words at all or if he did, then he had chosen to ignore it as he went on in the same quiet, driven tone, “I also felt I didn’t deserve to approach you.”
“You still don’t!”
But Marcus ignored this, too. “So there were things that I did to...prepare myself. I wanted to be a better man for you.”
“You can’t.” She couldn’t help feeling snide and hated herself for it. She thought Marcus would ignore it, too.
But he didn’t.
“Maybe.” Marcus’ tone was unreadable this time. “But I’d still like a chance to prove myself even so. And I thought I’d let you know that, to give you fair warning.”
For several moments, Anneke simply struggled with her disbelief. “Do you really believe you have a chance?”
“I like to believe I make my own chances.”
Oh God. His sheer gall blew her away, and it just left her feeling crazier and crazier. “I’m not withdrawing my petition for a divorce.”
“Be my guest,” Marcus said politely. “But neither am I withdrawing from my intention to court you.”
“You’re insane.”
“About you, yes.”
“Oh my God.” She couldn’t help laughing. And a moment later, she realized that she couldn’t help crying either. “Oh my God.” It was the only thing she could say. “Oh my God.”