Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“I know how to make them,” she says with a shrug. “I can make you some one day.”
My stomach rumbles at the thought. “I’m going to hold you to it.”
“New York or LA?” she asks, catching on to my game and joining in. “And you can’t say wherever the band is.” Actually, my thought was wherever she is, but I don’t tell her that.
“That’s hard. I love both, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with New York. It’s crazier, but people leave you alone there.”
“True,” she agrees. “But I’d want to live outside of the city in the ’burbs. That’s one thing I love about Calabasas. The gated communities and a bit of property. One day, I’d like to live on a bit of land, maybe have some horses and four-wheelers.”
“With a husband and kids?” I ask. As soon as the words come out and she tenses, I immediately regret it, thinking she’ll retreat into her shell, but she shocks me by answering.
“Yeah, I’d like a husband and kids someday,” she says softly. “At least two, so they have each other. And I’d want them close in age because as close as I am with my siblings, being so much older makes me feel like the odd one out sometimes. What about you? You’re an only child. Does that make you want to have one or a bunch?”
“I want a few. I loved when I’d go to your house, and the place would be loud, filled with people. Growing up, I never had that. My parents are uptight and close-minded, so I always avoided bringing my friends over. I want my home to be open and inviting and for my kids to know everyone is welcome.”
“Do your parents hate that you’re in a rock band?”
“Of course. They’re hoping this break means the end of Raging Chaos. They made sure to reach out and let me know that I have a job waiting for me if I want to go to school.” I scoff. “I would rather do anything besides work for their hotel.”
“They own a hotel?” she asks, sitting up and looking at me. “How did I not know that?”
“Because I keep it separate. The media knows about Pierce Hotels, but since it’s not gossip, they don’t really talk about it.”
“Wait? What?” She gasps. “Pierce Hotels is your parents’ hotel chain? They’re huge.”
I laugh. “No shit, and my parents feel their son playing in a rock band taints their pristine reputation.” I roll my eyes. “It doesn’t matter how successful the band is. They’ll always view me as a failure. All they care about is money and their image. They’re not even in love. It’s all business.
“Growing up, I saw how fake their marriage was, and then every summer, I’d go visit my grandparents, who were in love. Even in their eighties, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It gave me hope that I could have what they had and not be stuck in a loveless marriage like my parents. My grandfather died when I was sixteen, and my grandma followed shortly after. I believe she was so heartbroken without him that she followed him to heaven.”
Kendall sighs. “I want that kind of love.”
I said I’d give her time, but I can’t help myself when I blurt out the following words. “You can have that.” I tip her chin to look at me. “We can have that. You just have to stop being scared and give us a chance.”
She swallows thickly, and I worry she’s going to run. But instead, tears fill her eyes. “I want to,” she whispers so softly, I almost don’t hear her. “But you’re right, I’m scared. So many things can go wrong.”
“Or they can go right.”
“But if they go wrong, it can ruin everything.”
“Or it can be amazing,” I argue. “We still have some time left on our trip. What if, instead of being hell-bent on just having fun, you give me a chance to show you how good it can be? Let me woo you.”
She chokes out a laugh. In her family, the men always talk about how they woo their women. It’s an old-fashioned term, but they believe in the old-fashioned kind of love. The kind where the man treats his woman like a queen and always puts her first, reminding her every day how blessed he is to have her in his life. And that’s exactly what I want to do with Kendall. I want to woo the hell out of her.
“All right,” she says, shocking me. “I’ll give you a chance to woo me. But I don’t want anyone to know yet. Just in case.”
This is another gigantic step in the right direction, so I’m not about to argue. I started this trip with the intent of getting away from Kendall since she was marrying someone else, and now, here she is, willing to give us a real chance. I’ll take it, and by the time this trip is over, she’s going to be shouting it from the rooftops that we’re together.