Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 157672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 788(@200wpm)___ 631(@250wpm)___ 526(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 788(@200wpm)___ 631(@250wpm)___ 526(@300wpm)
“She has a dress fitting this morning. Do you think something is wrong?” All playfulness vanishes and she’s in worry mode.
I dig my phone out of my pocket and hit Rowan’s number.
“Talon?” she answers with alarm.
“Here with Lo, got your message. What’s up?”
“What’s up? I messaged her like fifteen minutes ago. Where is she?”
“Standing right here listening to you.”
“Wills?”
“Yes, you okay?”
“I know the timing sucks, but can you meet me at Clyde’s? It won’t take long. Harley and Jewls are occupied and I need help. Cruz said this has to be done today.”
“What has to be done?”
“Well, it’s a situation with—”
“Be there soon.” I disconnect Rowan before she gets rattled and raises suspicion.
“Get your jacket and shoes.” I drop a kiss to Willow’s nose and let her go.
“Do I need a jacket? It’s supposed to be warm today.”
I give her a once over. “You’re with me, no clothes required. We leave the house, I prefer you covered.” I repeat the words from long ago in her living room and get the same reaction. Defiance sparks in her expression as she opens her mouth to argue.
“You throw sass, we’ll be a lot later to whatever you have planned.”
“Shit.” She hurries past me to the closet and comes out wearing a pair of sandals with the same blue shimmer as her shirt and the gem in her piercing.
“Lo?”
“Bossy!” She ties a jacket around her waist and grabs her phone. “Happy now?”
“Be happier when you put it on.”
“You know, I was going to take you up on your suggestion of handcuffs tonight. But you’re pissing me off.”
The thought of her laid out naked, restrained, and ready for me to do whatever I want is too much. A low, throaty growl rumbles from my chest.
“Five seconds to get your ass to my truck or I’m not responsible for what happens next.”
She narrows her eyes, challenging me until I take a step forward, and she leaps into action.
I let her scoot past me and lock up behind us. She’s typing on her phone in deep concentration until we’re halfway to Clyde’s.
“Okay, I think it’s all rearranged. We’ll have to be quick. Hopefully, Rowan isn’t having a major crisis.”
“There’s not a major crisis.”
“How do you know? She sounds frantic.”
“Because if there was even the hint of a crisis, Ford would handle it.”
“Some things even badass Marine-slash-law officers can’t fix.”
“Care to bet on that?”
“She’s a bride, Talon. Weddings are stressful and unpredictable, issues arise.”
“She’s Ford’s bride, which means he won’t fucking let anything stress her out.”
“You mean you’ll all handle it. Because she’s Rowan.”
“She’s Ford’s.”
“I know that, honey. I’m not criticizing. She’s Rowan and she’s had a hard time in the past few years. She deserves nothing but beautiful in her future. Ford will make sure she gets that. And he has the three of you at his back. Hence, if something goes wrong, you’ll all handle it.”
My gut turns at the reflection in her expression and tone. Willow hasn’t questioned my devotion to her since that morning she overheard the conversation in the kitchen. She doesn’t bring up the kidnapping often, and when she does, I try to appease her curiosity without feeding into her imagination.
But it’s easy to read that it’s on her mind at this moment. She’s thinking of my relationship with Rowan.
I bring her hand to my lap, knowing what I’m about to say may send her spiraling.
“You have a lot of that right, baby, but you’re also off-base. When I said Ford’s bride, I mean it’s also Ford’s wedding. He may not give a shit about the details, but he fucking knows she will get what she wants.
“Just like I know when it’s my woman, it’s my wedding. You get whatever you want. Something unpredictable arises, you stress, I’ll handle it.”
Her eyes bulge and hand goes into a death grip. “Talon—”
“You have many people who love you, Princess, including me. I come with a shitload of people who will support you, but it’s me who has your back. Always. Someone fucks with you, they fuck with me. Not many people want to fuck with me.”
Her eyes well up and she covers her mouth as a quiet sob escapes. “Damn you, Talon. Don’t make me cry on your birthday.”
“You crying because you’re freaking out?”
She shakes her head. “I mean, you just told me I’d have the wedding of my dreams or someone would answer to you, which could mean a variety of nefarious things. Why would you think I’d freak out?” Even in tears, the woman throws sarcasm my way.
“Glad you’re not freaking.” I kiss her knuckles and smile, pulling into a reserved spot in the back of Clyde’s.
Her phone rings and she frowns at the screen.
“Who’s that?”
“My mother.”
“You want to answer it?”
She shakes her head, tossing the phone to me. “Will you hold this?”