Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 51122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
He’d sent it to me in the mail.
It was one of the last things that we talked about before it all happened.
It was a bee.
But it was a bejeweled bee that looked spectacularly sparkly.
I loved it, and even though we had a falling out, I’d hung that bee on my tree. Then I hung it in my bedroom window until it was time to put the Christmas tree up again, then I’d put it back on the tree.
When I opened the door to Ellenie’s room, I was unsurprised to find it clean as a whistle.
If there was one thing I could say about my chaotic best friend, it was that she hated mess.
Pulling the duvet down to the bottom of the bed, I started piling pillows on the sides—and there were plenty—so the little girl wouldn’t roll out of the bed.
When I was done, I stepped back, and he laid her down on the bed.
“She won’t stay here long. She’ll need one more meal and a change for the night, but it’ll give us enough time to figure out whether you want me to stay,” he rumbled.
I stepped away from the room and let him do his thing, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel my heart contract at the sweet way that he’d treated his baby.
A baby that he thought I would resent, so he’d chosen her over me.
Not that I could blame him.
I wished every parent was like that.
Mine sure the hell weren’t.
Hell, it was a few days until Christmas, and I hadn’t even discussed the upcoming holidays with them.
Sure, they’d probably reach out on the Eve, but that didn’t mean that I was planning my days around them.
In fact, I was more than capable of planning my own life out, and if I could fit them in, I would do it.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t feel him come up behind me and touch my hip with his big, strong hand until he was right there.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You okay?”
I swallowed, then focused my eyes and realized that I was staring at the kitchen like he’d harmed me in some way.
“Just thinking about my parents,” I said softly. “You’re really good with her.”
He laughed sardonically, almost as if he didn’t believe my words. “I hate to tell you this, Princess, but I’m just surviving over here.”
I turned and came almost nose to chest with him.
When I went to take a step back, he caught my hip and pulled me in close. Then he wrapped those big arms around me and hugged me tight.
“I’m sorry,” he rumbled. “I’m so damn sorry.”
I sank into his embrace, relishing in the way he could make me feel so freakin’ small.
At five-foot-nine, I wasn’t a small girl. I was curvy and ample and let’s just say, I felt big next to every other man I’d dated.
But Kristoff…he was big and perfect.
And made me want to hold on tight and never let go.
We stayed like that for a while. A solid ten minutes at least.
And only when my neck felt raw from holding it at the angle I was, did I pull away.
“Would you like a drink?” I asked.
He nodded, then walked with me to the kitchen.
He took a seat while I walked to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of Heineken.
Handing him one, I took a seat across from him and waited.
He flipped the top off and then handed his to me before taking mine and doing the same.
I took a long swallow, nerves taking flight in my belly.
“I’m an idiot,” he said. “The only thing I can say is…I was a little bit lost. I was doing things, reacting in real time, and I can’t say I’m sorry enough. I should’ve asked. I should’ve brought this up to you. But we hadn’t even started, and there were so many freakin’ emotions going on…I didn’t….I didn’t realize that I hadn’t dealt with those. I know this might sound like a line but…I’ve done nothing but think about you since I stopped texting and calling.”
It did sound like a line.
But it was a line that I was willing to take as sincere.
Kristoff had never lied to me.
He’d also been very upfront and honest with me about everything up until he’d ghosted me.
Sure, he’d ghosted me, but if anyone had a great excuse for that, it was him.
I mean, it wasn’t every day that you found out you were a father.
I licked my lips, then stared at him for a long time before I said, “What now?”
“Catch me up on your life,” he suggested. “Are you still doing that placement thing?”
I snickered. “If by placement thing you mean am I still working with actors to find out the best way to stage a sex scene then…yes.”
His eyes twinkled.
“Can that be done from anywhere?” he asked.