Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
She purses her lips but finally takes one. “Fine. I’ll have a glass or two. I never have more than that.”
Neither do I, unless I’m in Cancun, apparently.
“Let me take your coat,” I say, already tugging her jacket off with my free hand. She puts her drink on the table beside us while letting the material slide off her shoulders with effortless grace.
A tortured groan passes my lips when I see all the newly exposed skin of her back, along with how damn good that dress fits her. It might as well have been made for her body. Fuck. Me.
One of the men working the party comes to take the coat from me, and he retreats toward the front closet. I let my hand glide down Allie’s bare back, unable to stop myself from touching her.
She doesn’t seem to mind when my hand stays at her waist, resting on her hip like I’m more than just her child’s father.
Most. Fucked up. Situation. Ever.
“So you work at the hospital?” Ash asks her.
“Yeah. I’m a scrub tech. It’s a good job. My hours stay consistent. It’s rare that they change for any reason unless I request overtime.”
As Ash and Allie stay immersed in idle chitchat, Tag grins over at me, moving closer and lowering his voice.
“The countdown begins.”
“What countdown?” I ask, confused.
His grin broadens as Maverick and the other Sterlings start piling in. Unfortunately, the Sterlings aren’t the only ones coming in.
Tag is grinning when I turn my attention away from the nightmare that just crashed the party and return my glare to him.
“What countdown?” I ask again.
With a smirk I don’t really like, he says, “Until you break.”
Chapter 18
ALLIE
She’s here. I knew she would be, but I don’t know why I expected her to look anything less than stunning. But Wren never loved her, never really cared about her.
Though the wounds of the divorce should still be fresh, he didn’t seem the slightest bit affected when he spoke about her. He actually seemed genuinely happy that she is out of his life.
Well, sort of out of his life.
“She came with Billy?” Ash asks on a gasp, her eyes finding the same thing I just did. “How stupid is he?”
From what I’ve gathered, Ash is trying to stay friends with Erica, but she’s making it hard on Ash because she’s changing and getting more cunning every day. And now she’s here with Wren’s brother… The same one she cheated on Wren with.
Yeah… That’s not making a statement. The sarcasm in my mind is almost tangible, and a few more snide comments play with it, battling to come out of my zipped lips. I’m not one to start drama, but the urge is definitely there right now.
Wren barely glances behind him, but he seems more bored than interested. I almost want to kiss him just to shove a figurative dagger in Erica’s cold heart. How could she do this? She’s screwing with two brothers that are already on the outs.
“Just when I thought I was starting to like the little fucker,” Tag says under his breath.
Ash shakes her head, rubbing her barely pudge of a belly through her very tight dress. “I can’t handle them right now. I might kill one or both or try to knock some sense into them. I need chocolate since I can’t have liquor,” she grumbles, which causes Tag to laugh as she walks off.
“I’m going with her. I’ll catch up with you two later. Ash might hurt someone in this state. She’s feisty right now—amongst other things. The other things are my favorite. Who knew pregnancy could be so much fun?” He winks at Wren, and I roll my eyes.
Men.
But that confuses me when I think about it. Hasn’t he already had one child?
I notice Wren flinches. He didn’t flinch when his ex walked in with his brother, but the mention of a pregnancy has him flinching. Ohh… He missed my pregnancy. He missed everything.
I really have to stop enjoying all the little moments he shows me he cares. Wren looking vulnerable is a big weakness for me. But he and I cannot happen. He knows it; I know it. Yet here we are, with his hand wrapped around me, and my body leaned against his like we can’t seem to stop touching.
I’m fairly sure this isn’t what most people do in this situation.
“I thought they already had a kid,” I say, ignoring all the confusing feelings that are festering inside me. “Why does Tag seem new to pregnancy issues?”
“Long story. Any idea what he’s talking about?”
It takes me a second to follow his train of thought, but I finally catch on. He shifts gears within a breath.
“Yeah. Every emotion is fairly extreme when you’re pregnant—at least it was for me. And your hormones are a serious pain in the ass. Something that would normally just irk you pisses you off. Something that would normally make you frown has you bursting into tears. I cried for two hours one day because I dropped the pickle jar.”