Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
“How you picture Brad Pitt in your head when we’re making love?” I deadpan. “That’s why you come so fast?”
She laughs as she crosses the porch to me. “You know none of that is true. Why would I have to imagine him when I have my very own heartthrob?” Wrapping her arms around my neck, she hugs me. “But I did forget to tell you what an amazing time I had in New York with you.”
Having an apartment to ourselves, having her to myself spoiled me in ways I didn’t expect. “I did too.” She fits so perfectly into my world like a puzzle piece that’s been missing. She’s exposed the cracks in a world I thought I had built of steel, that was supposed to be impenetrable. The dad, the player, the man—she’s exposed that I’m also human and need more than air, water, and hockey to survive. I need her. “It was nice being just the two of us.”
She’s brought parts of me back to life that have been dormant for years.
This place and her family bring her to life.
Bridging our lives won’t be simple, but it will be a masterpiece when it’s done.
Rising onto her toes, she kisses me, but holds my face in her hands afterward while her eyes search mine. “And I love you. Three words Brad Pitt will never hear from me.”
“I like that. Both parts.” Jealousy misplaced. Look at my girl choosing me over that other guy who we shall not name anymore. “I love you, too, Sunshine.”
Reaching for a bag, she says, “I can help, you know?”
“Got it covered, and I’m right behind you.”
My phone rings. It’s the ringtone that didn’t disturb us in the city. My agent sent plenty of texts, but he was smart enough not to call. “I’m going to take this first.” She nods before returning to the house. I set the baggage down on the porch and walk toward the water for this conversation. “Hey, Jimmy.”
“What’s going on, Daniel?” What I used to consider happy to be working with me now sounds like an effort to sell me a lemon of a used car. “How’s summer treating you?”
I cover the last few steps before stopping and staring ahead. “Listen, I know you saw the event coverage.”
“I did. That’s quite the spitfire on your arm. Red-hot candy.”
My blood shoots straight to boiling. “Watch your mouth, Jimmy. She’s not arm candy. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Oh whoa, whoa. Didn’t know you were dating anyone. Apologies.” He’s so fucking slimy, every word spoken is faker than the previous. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Or maybe I ignored it since he’s good at his job. “I can meet her on the Fourth. I think the owners will be happy—”
“I don’t give a shit about the owners when it comes to my personal life.”
“I hear you. I hear you loud and clear, buddy. I want to touch base with you. We’re going into negotiations at the end of July and—”
“We aren’t.”
There’s a pause, and a buzz as he says, “Hm.” Voices pull my attention back to the house where the three sisters are talking with Roman in the mix. Winter grabs her beekeeper’s hat, and Summer waves before they head toward the woods. The woods past the shed, where I was forbidden in rule number two? “Yeah, it’s right here on the calendar. July thirty-first. Ten a.m.”
Dropping my head, I grind my teeth just listening to this asshole. “Let me be crystal clear. We aren’t. You let them put that story out to damage my career in hopes of what?” I look up again, my future brighter now than it’s been in years. “Twisting my arm to make me bend to their demands? Fuck that and fuck you. You’re fired for fucking me over with the team and league.” I hang up and tuck my phone back in my pocket.
I feel a lot lighter already, a hundred and eighty pounds lighter, actually. Puts a new meaning in free agent. He’s free to piss some other athlete off because it won’t be me anymore.
I head for the woods to find where they snuck off to. The trees grow denser the farther you walk into them. I find a path they’ve worn into the earth and cut over to it to follow. Is it wrong to want to see what they’re up to before announcing my arrival? It’s not spying per se. They took my son with them. But my curiosity is getting the better of me the deeper I travel into the woods.
The infamous shed I was warned about doesn’t slow me down. I can’t imagine it has more than a few rusted tools stored in it, given how it’s barely standing. Walking a bit more, I stop when I hear their voices. They’re too far to understand the conversation, but the laughter is distinct. I only walk a little farther before the trees widen apart, giving me a peeping Tom’s view of the wide-open field ahead and making me smile.