Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
“He did.”
“We’ll do that, but first you gotta call Poppy.”
“Okay.”
Kane calls her the moment we finish breakfast that he made me eat. Can’t remember the last time I ate breakfast.
“You gotta work today?” Kane asks as the dial tone sounds through the kitchen space.
I nod. “Got a client in for a six-hour sitting.”
Kane whistles long and low. “That’s gonna smart.”
“Guy’s tough as nails.”
“So am I,” he puts in needlessly which makes me grin.
“That goes without saying.”
We share an affectionate look.
“I’ll go back and look through the files while you work,” he murmurs right as Poppy answers with a friendly, “Kane Jessop, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Poppy-Rose,” Kane replies. “How have you been, darlin’?”
My jealousy instantly rears its ugly and nostalgic head. He knows I don’t like it when he calls other people under fifty darlin’. Not even Poppy-Rose. But by the flash of his eyes I just know he did that on purpose.
“Got someone here who wants to talk to you,” Kane puts in, his tone gruff and amused.
“Oh my God… is she there?” Her tone is all but a shriek. “You’re pulling my dick, right? You’re winding me up?”
“I’m here.” I chew on my lip and stare at Kane’s phone resting on the countertop.
“Are you kidding me?” I can hear the emotion in her voice. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!”
And now she’s pissed, maybe even hysterical. Rightfully so. Just hearing her voice has me feeling every kind of emotion.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? You were like my sister my entire life and then you just fucking vanished!”
“It’s a long story.” Kane, for support, wraps his arms around me from behind. I quickly add before she can question me further, “How are you? What have you been up to?”
She pauses, I know she wants to get madder, but she doesn’t. I hear her exhale right before she answers, “So much actually. How much time do you have?”
“Not enough. I have to be at work in forty minutes.”
“Well then, I guess for now I can tell you I’m happy, I’m safe, I have the love of a great guy. We just got engaged and now I’m settled in my career we umm… yeah. Things are moving at a steady pace. You?”
“Not much to tell, bit of a loner, I have my own tattoo shop.”
“Wait that’s yours?” Kane asks, quirking a brow. “You never mentioned that.”
“Didn’t need to. Bought it with the money I got from the state after my… after the thing.”
He nods, looking solemn. “You got deep roots here then.”
“It’s just a building, Kane.”
He doesn’t look like he believes me but truth be told I’m not attached to much in this life, especially not a building. Bought it because I wanted to be my own boss, kept getting fired by my old ones.
“That’s awesome, Immy. You do tattoos? You always were good at drawing.” Poppy sounds so happy, genuinely so.
I smile at the phone, wishing it would morph into my old friend. “It was hell without you.”
“I should hope so,” she jests, and Kane picks up the phone.
“She’ll call you back,” Kane promises.
“She better.” She laughs lightly and I recall how badly I have missed that sound. “See you later guys.”
“Bye,” I murmur.
The line dies when Kane hangs up and stuffs his phone into his back pocket.
“You good?” he asks tenderly, turning me in his arms. I don’t need to confirm, he brushes my hair back, cups my cheek and presses his forehead to mine. “You’re good. Ain’t gonna let anybody chew you out. Don’t worry, darlin’.”
“Except you, right?”
“Yeah, but you can take it from me and know that I’ll still fuckin’ feel the same way about you at the end.”
I press my cheek to his chest. “Do you think I’m weak?”
“I think you’re the strongest girl I ever saw, Imogen Hardy.”
“Pretty sure that’s you,” I retort, smiling and then squealing when he squeezes my ass so hard it hurts.
“Go to work, I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”
“Okay.”
I pull away but he yanks me back and crushes his lips against mine. I love it when he does that.
As he said he would, he spends the whole day poring over those files. When he returns to me later with a bag of food, I can see how physically and mentally drained he is. This is what I didn’t want for him. It’s breaking my heart, a heart I was sure could never be hurt again.
He doesn’t do much talking, just walks me home and sets about making dinner.
Who’d have thought that vicious unruly boy always getting into trouble would know how to make the meanest spaghetti bolognese I ever did taste? Who’d have thought the boy I once knew would become the incredible man I’m looking at right now?
God, he deserved to move on and find love with a woman less damaged than me, but all I see when he looks at me with that handsome and crooked smile, is total adoration. Kane Jessop never stopped loving me anymore than I stopped loving him. Even our mutual hatred couldn’t destroy our bond. A bond that shouldn’t exist. A bond that makes no sense.