Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Etienne, who’d been rather silent until now, moved and curled his arm around Matilda’s waist, pulling her back against him.
I watched with envy.
I wanted that with someone. But I also wanted the guarantee that I wouldn’t lose them. That one day I wouldn’t grow to rely on them being around, and all of a sudden they were no longer there.
I’d seen what had happened to my mom upon losing my dad. Saw how very lost she was.
And sure, a lot of that could be due to my mom and just how my mom was—she needed someone to take care of her so much she felt lost without it—but also, she was never quite the same even after she started dating again and found that need fulfilled with someone else.
But what if the chance of losing someone was worth it? From my end, watching my friends take the plunge one after the other, it seemed worth it.
But at what cost?
My soul?
Because I wasn’t sure that was worth it.
But looking at Alice now, who was sweetly telling Matilda that it was okay that she’d almost killed her, I was fairly sure the choice was out of my hands.
That, even if I’d wanted to stay away, I wasn’t going to get that opportunity any longer.
Because I didn’t have much willpower left.
Needless to say, there was a whole chain of events that nearly exploded my world yesterday.
And let’s just say, my eyes were completely open now.
“My brother and dad just left. My grandfather called and said that something happened with my grandmother. A fall. They think she might’ve broken her wrist,” Alice grumbled. “I might need a ride.”
“Oh, no.” Matilda winced. “My car definitely has dog hair in it, though. You could ride on Etienne’s motor…”
Both Etienne and I said, “No!” at the same time.
“I’ll take her home,” I said. “I got Bain and Kobe to switch out my bike for my truck anyway. You don’t even know that you’re getting out today.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “I’m fine now.”
I was still seeing her seizing on the floor. The idea that she was ‘fine’ was foreign to me.
“We’ll see,” I grumbled.
“Well, in that case, I want you to take some time off,” Etienne stated.
“I think not. I’m fine. I can’t stop living my life every time this happens.” Alice shrugged. “And, just sayin’, but I’ll be back at The Marina tomorrow. So regardless of if I’m doing your work, I’ll be doing work. Dad can’t handle it all, and Silvy has a double shift tonight and tomorrow night.”
I’d heard them discussing it, and it’d flabbergasted me at the time that they were discussing her working tomorrow. I mean, less than eight hours ago, she was practically dying in front of me.
Now she planned on working?
“We’ll see,” Etienne acquiesced. “You’ll let us know if you need anything?”
Would she? I highly doubted that.
“Sure.” Alice smiled that disarming smile of hers. The one that said she was lying through her teeth.
Before anyone could call her on it, her doctor rushed in, looking harried. “Hello, friends.”
Etienne and Matilda left, leaving the doctor flipping through her chart for a few seconds before dropping the papers into place and looking at his patient.
“All right, you ready to head home?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Since everything looks great, we’ll get that discharge paperwork started. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
She would.
I’d have to keep an eye on her.
After the doctor left, I stood up and walked to the end of her bed. She was looking everywhere but at me.
But before I could say what I’d intended to say—that she was coming home with me until I was one hundred percent certain she was okay—a nurse came in with papers flapping.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s get you gone.”
And that was that.
In no time, we were in the parking lot, and I was hovering over her as she climbed into the passenger’s seat of my Chevy Suburban.
All the while, she never made eye contact.
I waited until we were alone and driving away to say, “You sure you want to go home? Why don’t I take you somewhere else? Your dad’s place?”
I’d intended to say ‘my house.’ What had come out was the complete opposite. And the words set her gaze on fire.
CHAPTER 8
Goodnight, ladies. Remember to die before you tell a man how you feel.
-Alice’s secret thoughts
ALICE
There was something I was missing.
I didn’t know what it was, but my brain just couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
It was as if I had a test that I hadn’t prepared for, or there was some assignment due that I had completely forgotten about.
It was a nagging feeling in the back of my brain that I just couldn’t. Fucking. Get.
Shit!
“You okay?”
Coran.
I all but flinched away from him.
“I’m good.” I tried to smile, but when it came to Coran, it never quite reached my eyes. “I’ll be closing down for an hour today for lunch. If you need anything, call the company phone.”