Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 68538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
His tongue swept into my mouth at my gasp of surprise at finding his lips on mine, and then he was pulling away with a grin.
“My brother’s an asshole to me, too, if it makes you feel better!” I called out to him as he jogged back to his truck.
He stopped with one foot in the door before turning around and saying, “No. That actually pisses me off.”
I pulled away with a smile, then closed the door on him.
He sped away, and I had another squeal fest.
Only when my heart stopped pounding did I gain enough control.
When I had it, I called my best friend.
This was something we definitely needed to talk about.
Right. Now.
Call me old-fashioned, but I like my men without wives, fiancées, and girlfriends.
—Maven’s secret thoughts
MAVEN
“Okay,” Athena sat down in the booth at our favorite coffee shop, The Roost, and said, “Tell me everything.”
I did, from start to finish, before either one of us had a single drink of coffee.
She stared at me with wide eyes and said, “That’s… insane.”
“I know!” I said.
“I can’t believe you actually asked him out.” She chuckled. “Who is this new Maven?”
“The new and improved Maven.” I giggled. “You’re right, though. I never would’ve done this before. But I’d had a really bad day yesterday, and though he was kind of quiet and grumpy the entire time we were fishing, he was sweet. He took my fish off for me. Baited my hook. Got me snacks. Walked around with me when I got bored. Offered to get an umbrella from the truck when it got a little too sunny for me to see my book on my phone. Heck, he even let me use his charging case for my phone.”
She blinked. “That’s why you did it, isn’t it? Because he let you read and didn’t complain.”
My face immediately went blank.
“It’s a good thing, Mave,” she said softly. “There’s not a single thing wrong with reading.”
I knew that.
She knew that.
But that didn’t stop the childhood trauma of my dad and brother giving me so much shit that I had to hide my books from them so they didn’t bully me relentlessly.
I looked away, my eyes taking in the coffee shop around us.
My gaze slid to the back corner booth where a group of men was gathering.
My eyes narrowed when I saw the familiar blond hair.
“Is that…”
“The asshole?” Athena guessed.
‘The asshole’ was Sheldon Greene.
Sheldon was my ex-boyfriend as of nine months ago.
He was a member of the SWAT team, my stepbrother’s best friend, and the man my dad had approved of and given permission for me to marry.
It’d taken me a while to see that my dad and brother had set me up with Sheldon for a purpose.
On Sheldon’s part, I didn’t think that he was aware of their manipulation.
I think he was so focused on getting a rise in rank, making the SWAT team, and getting all the ins he could that he didn’t much notice he was being strategically placed into a situation where we could find each other.
On my part, I didn’t exactly notice the manipulation until I broke up with Sheldon.
Sheldon wasn’t a bad guy.
He was easily influenced and liked to climb the ranks. Sure, he used me to accomplish that, but he also was under the assumption that he was killing two birds with one stone.
However, when I told him that I didn’t want to be with him anymore, he turned into someone who was more like my brother.
Scott was an asshole.
Vickie, my stepmother, had two adopted children, Scott and Dorsey.
When my dad met Vickie, I was young.
My dad only had me because my own mother had died during childbirth with their second child.
Both the baby and my mom didn’t make it, and my dad saw absolutely no reason not to find another suitable substitute as soon as possible.
I was seven when Scott, Vickie, and Dorsey officially became my step-family.
Dorsey was great. Vickie, my stepmother, was just existing. She was never supportive, but never quite against me either. She didn’t fight for me, but she didn’t fight against me. Again, she was just someone who lived in the house and kind of took care of me when she was required to.
Scott, on the other hand? He was not great and never had been.
The moment he and Dad got together, they turned into horrible people, each making the other more horrible the longer they were around each other.
When they got together, they would torture Dorsey and me.
Vickie, for her part, was working her ass off as a doctor, and didn’t much notice it.
Dorsey and I didn’t really tell her about the issues, either.
I wasn’t sure what it would accomplish. If Vickie decided to leave, I would still have to deal with my dad.
And Dorsey, well, I wasn’t sure why she never snitched on her brother or my dad, but I assumed it had something to do with their previous life.