Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“I don’t care,” he said, his voice ragged, husky. “You can see that, can’t you?”
He was making my breath catch and my skin heat, and my clothes felt two sizes too small. And he was a beautiful, charming man, so of course I’d be attracted, but it was him with his kids that showed me his heart. It was dangerous to want what I couldn’t have.
I willed myself to calm down and not spin him around, put him up against the opposite wall, and kiss him so long and so hard he’d have to shove me off him to breathe. No good could come of that.
“I wanna know where you’re going,” he demanded.
“I—”
“Actually, never mind. I’m going with you, and after that, you feed me.”
“That’s not—”
“But I insist.” He smiled smugly.
“Okay, fine. You can come along while I speak to Marcello Conti’s older brother, Richard, about why he’s skulking around the house.”
That took a second to sink in. “I think I didn’t hear right.”
“You heard right,” I said, slipping around him and going from the mudroom into the garage. “Let’s go.”
I heard him set the alarm behind me, but before I could get into the Jeep, he grabbed my bicep and steered me toward his Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat.
“I’ve been meaning to ask…do you really need a truck this big?” I baited him.
“Yes,” he answered flatly. “I haul things like dirt and trees and big-ass equipment like backhoes and stump grinders. I’m a landscaper, remember?”
“You’re being sarcastic before lunch?”
“Get in the truck,” he ordered with a growl, moving to the passenger door and holding it open for me. “The Jeep is fine in the rain, but the truck is better.”
I was going to tell him, again, that I didn’t need him to open and close doors for me, but he did it constantly, everywhere, so revisiting the topic seemed futile. Plus, it was nice.
When the garage door opened, it was raining even harder than it had been earlier, but that was not a surprise. I was getting used to the sky opening up on a regular basis. Once he backed us out, he asked where we were going.
“First, I need you to promise you’ll let me do the talking once we get there.”
“Yes, fixer, I know,” he said, exasperated.
“You make me all giddy when you talk like that.”
“Where. Am. I. Going?” he asked, enunciating the words for me.
“To the Eena Motel,” I said, checking out the interior of the truck. “It’s always clean in here, and I’m constantly surprised.”
He rolled his eyes. “I have kids. They have to be in here too.”
“You’re a good dad.”
“Correction: I was a good dad, then I wasn’t, but I will be again. You’ve given me a fresh start, and I’m thankful.”
“Well, your kids love and respect you, so that’s half the battle right there. I’ve seen lots of families over the years, in lots of different capacities, and really, I have every confidence in you. Plus, you know what good looks like, so you’re ahead of the game.”
He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. “Do you have a gun on you right now?”
“Weird topic change.”
“Just answer.”
“Of course. Why?”
Quick shrug. “I dunno. But if you had to end up shooting the brother of the guy my wife left me for…I could live with that.”
“You know, all teasing aside, with that kind of anger still rattling around in your brain, it would be helpful if you could see a therapist as well.”
“I was kidding. Really. I’m sorry if it fell flat.”
I stared at him.
“Fine. I was mostly kidding,” he grumbled. “But I agree that talking to someone would be beneficial, and I’ll even ask Dr. Marlowe for a recommendation the next time I’m there with the kids. Honestly, though, I hope you can see that I’m not actually filled with rage.”
I nodded.
“And the anger was never for me to begin with. Who cares how she treated me? It’s how she treated the kids that makes me homicidal.”
I understood that, but still. “You realize you deserve to be happy as well.”
“Yeah, but once you become a parent, that’s your most important job. I have to be devoted to the welfare of my kids before any other consideration.”
“Except that, modeling a happy, healthy, equal relationship for your children shows them what they deserve in their own lives.”
At the stop sign, he turned to me. “No. Your parents’ marriage is supposed to show you what you don’t want, so then you go out and find the exact opposite. Everybody knows that.”
“That is so messed up,” I assured him, shaking my head.
“I should have known you’re not married,” he muttered.
“And why is that?”
“Happy marriage, healthy…whatever, gimme a break.”
“Listen, my boss just got married after waiting most of his adult life for his husband, so yeah, I’m a romantic. You have to have faith.”