Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Looks like y’all have a lot to catch up on,” Trent said as if he was struggling for air. He turned his back to Wood but not before he saw the defeat and rejection in those eyes.
“Adam, I came looking for you to apologize, that’s it,” Wood said, staring helplessly after Trent. “Adam, can you sit on the couch for a minute, I need to go clear this up.”
Adam grabbed Wood’s arm when he went to walk by. “Woody, what are you doing?” Adam leaned in, lowering his voice. “What the hell is up with you and that kid?”
“He’s not a kid, Adam.” Wood pulled away. “He’s very important to me.”
“I have something for you,” Adam said quickly, clutching tightly to his wrist as Wood stared down the hall impatiently. Every second that he let Trent brew in confusion and anger would only make things more complicated.
“In a minute.”
“I have your portfolios, Wood,” Adam said almost reverently, as if he knew exactly how much weight that phrase would have.
Wood slowly turned to face the man he once thought he’d spend the rest of his life with to make sure he wasn’t messing with him. Playing at his emotions since Adam used to be the master at that.
“What?” Wood choked. Praying silently. Please let this be real.
“You heard me. I have your sweethearts with me right now,” Adam said with certainty. “In pristine condition.”
“Show me,” Wood whispered.
Chapter Forty-Five
Trent
Where the fuck did he come from? Trent was pacing his bedroom floor, his hands clenching in his hair so tightly he wasn’t sure if his ear-splitting headache was from his rage or his grip. His mood had spiraled from elated to miserable so fucking fast he’d gotten dizzy, discombobulated. One minute he was on his way into his house to have passionate sex with his boyfriend, and the next minute his lover had dropped his hand like dead weight and was hugging some other motherfucker.
Trent gritted his teeth. Fiancé. Wood never told him he’d been that serious with anyone before he went to prison. He knew Wood wasn’t a virgin, but this… this was too much. He remembered he said he’d fight for Wood, but how could he win if the odds were already stacked against him. Adam Phillips was mature, articulate, debonair, fucking handsome, and he screamed successful. Most of the qualities Trent didn’t possess, yet, he was working on them.
Now he was burning a hole in his carpet as he thought of all the things he should’ve said to that haughty jackass with his long coat and his flashy car. Even his midnight-black walking cane was fucking extra with its silver claw handle. Wood couldn’t possibly have wanted a husband like that. A man that was all about appearances. Trent hadn’t missed the way he’d looked around his house as if it was beneath him… and Wood. He’d heard him smoothly offer his boyfriend a better place to stay, and the reason Trent’s eyes were burning when he came out the room was because he never heard Wood say “no, thank you.”
He heard the front door open, then close, and Trent stopped walking as he held his breath to listen. Any minute Wood would come in there and tell him that all that was a big misunderstanding and that Adam was delusional if he thought he was leaving Trent. Any minute now. He’s coming through the door any second.
It felt as if he’d waited an eternity, and still Wood never came.
Did he leave? Trent’s mouth dropped open, and his chest burned with a heat that he thought would consume him. Did Wood go with Adam to his fancy house in Virginia Beach? Was that all Wood had been waiting on? No. No! Trent shook his head violently. He not only tried to dispel the negative thoughts, but he also tried to unsee the way that bastard had slid into Wood’s embrace as if it was right where he belonged and Trent had been nothing more than a place warmer these past weeks.
Now he was standing there like an idiot, feeling like an idiot. There was no other reason that Wood hadn’t come through his bedroom door by now. It’s because he was gone, since Trent had never been anyone worth chasing. He continued to kick himself for being such a coward and walking away, but Adam had intimidated the fuck out of him. Trent was used to implementing brute force to deal with his problems—that wouldn’t work in this case.
Maybe… just maybe it wasn’t too late. Trent walked to the window, his shoes feeling as if they had bricks on top of them, hoping to see the rear lights of that Mercedes getting dimmer and dimmer. His hands shook as he parted the blinds, already knowing what he’d see. Trent stared across the small lawn at the black vehicle still idling on the curb, his heart sinking to the floor as he watched Wood embrace Adam so tightly his feet were dangling. Wood showered his fiancé with eager, happy kisses all over his cheeks. So much that Adam looked as if he could barely cling on as he laughed loud enough for Trent to hear him through his window.