Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Oh,” she said softly.
I looked at the floor and my stomach sank. I’d found some gray rubber flooring at the hardware store that was thick enough that I knew we wouldn’t have to replace the subflooring if there was another leak, and I’d been pretty proud of it until I saw it inside the actual cart. It was ugly.
“Fuck, honey,” I said, sitting back on my heels. I’d been able to get the supplies I needed, but I wasn’t exactly rolling in cash. There was no way to return it now that I’d started cutting and I couldn’t go back and buy something prettier. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Charlie asked in confusion, her eyes meeting mine.
“I didn’t think about how it would look,” I said apologetically, gesturing at the floor. “It’s—”
“It’s perfect,” Charlie said, cutting me off.
“It’s ugly.”
“No, it’s not,” she argued, wrapping her arms around my neck from behind. “Are you kidding?”
“Honey—”
“Look how thick it is,” she said happily. “And it’s all textured, so I won’t slip if I spill something.”
I looked at the ugly pattern on the floor.
“Are you serious?”
“It’s so much better than what was in here before,” she said happily, her voice breathy in my ear as her arms tightened. I froze in place as I felt her lips against my neck. “You’re the best.”
As long as she kept her face against my neck like that, I was happy to stay kneeling on the floor.
“You need any help?” Cam asked from behind us.
“Nah,” I said, still as Charlie continued to hug my neck. “It’ll only take a few more minutes to finish.”
“Alright,” he said in amusement. “Come out when you’re done and I’ll help you unload the fridge.”
“Thank God my behemoth of a brother is here,” Charlie said with a sigh. “I’m guessing that fridge is heavy.”
“They used a forklift to get it in the truck,” I confirmed, reaching up to run my hand along her forearm.
“Why did you do all this?” she asked with a quiet sigh, pressing her forehead against the side of my neck.
Because I’d hurt her. Because she needed it. Because I didn’t want anything else to sidetrack what we could have if she’d give it a chance. Because I’d known how devastated she’d be when she realized how bad it was. Because in this small way, I’d been able to make her life a little easier.
The answer was as complicated as it was simple.
“I take care of my own, remember?” I said, kissing her arm.
“Dammit,” she whispered, her body going slack against my back.
I waited.
“I love you,” she said with a small shudder.
“Love you too, honey.”
“I’m still mad at you,” she replied softly.
“I can work with that,” I said, pulling on her arm until she was practically in my lap. Her hair was a mess, pulled up into a high ponytail, but at some point she’d put on a full face of makeup that hadn’t budged even when she was crawling around in the gravel with me that night.
“I can’t believe you built me a floor,” she said, her lips curling up at the corners.
“I’m good with my hands,” I replied, making her laugh. “And you helped.”
“For the first time in a while,” she said, laying her forehead against mine. “I’m feeling a little hopeful.”
“Good,” I replied, tilting my head so I could kiss her.
When her mouth met mine, I swear to God, every muscle that had been tightened into a knot since the night before seemed to relax at once.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Farrah said in amusement from the doorway. “Super excited that you’ve made up, but we need to unload this refrigerator.”
“My dad’s not going to let her unload anything,” Charlie whispered in amusement. Before she’d even finished her sentence we could hear Casper outside, telling her mom exactly that. “Told ya,” Charlie said as she climbed off my lap.
Cam and I had underestimated how awkward unloading a full-sized refrigerator from the bed of a truck would be, and we ended up having to wait around while Casper called in the troops. Bike after bike pulled up, some of them trailing a car or SUV, and soon, Charlie’s sisters and their husbands, Draco and Kara, and Kara’s parents were there in the driveway.
“You know, we could use the tractor to get it out,” Charlie’s brother-in-law Mark said easily. “Why didn’t you just call me?”
“That tractor’s cursed,” Draco said, sounding only half serious. “Last time we borrowed it the entire house burned down.”
“That logic is frightening,” Charlie said, smiling at me as she handed me a beer and walked away again.
She was the happiest I’d seen her in months. The tight way she’d held herself, even at her graduation party, had disappeared. As the crowd gathered in small groups and beer was passed around, she flitted from person to person, smiling and laughing. Her excitement was palpable.