Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
They really did look almost exactly the same. It was as if Clementine had been cloned from a strand of Tulsi’s DNA, leaving Pike no clue what the father had looked like.
“So Clementine’s never met her dad?” he found himself asking before he could consider the wisdom of letting Mia know he was still dwelling on their morning visitor.
“Nope. No letter, cards, money for diapers when Clem was a baby, nothing,” Mia said, popping the last bite of her English muffin into her mouth. “Tulsi talked to the bastard on the phone once not long after she found out she was pregnant, but it obviously didn’t go well. She never told me the specifics, but she cried for two days after and never mentioned the asshole again.”
Pike scowled, not knowing what bothered him more—that Tulsi had been so emotionally attached to the jerk or that the man had abandoned her. Tulsi was far from Pike’s favorite person, but no woman deserved to be treated that way, especially not when she was only eighteen years old. When Pike had been twenty-two, eighteen hadn’t seemed young. But now, looking back on those years as he was approaching his thirtieth birthday, he realized that Tulsi hadn’t been much more than a baby having a baby.
Still, she’d stepped up and done everything she could to be a responsible parent, something he admired her for no matter how much she’d hurt him.
“You still hungry?” Mia pushed her chair back from the table and carried her plate to the sink. “I can fry up some bacon before I go down to open up the shop if you want.”
“No, I’m good.” Pike stood and stretched, ignoring the twinge in his knee that assured him his ACL was still healing at a snail’s pace. “I’m going to go for a run, clear my head.”
Mia shot him a look over her shoulder. “Why do you need to clear your head? Tulsi and Clem are fine, Pike. You don’t have to worry about them.”
“I’m not,” he said, with what he hoped was a casual shrug. “I wasn’t.”
“You sounded worried.” Mia turned, wiping her hands on one of her rainbow colored dishtowels. “But they’re good, I promise. They’ve done great without that asshole. I know you saw them arguing today, but they really are the cutest little family. They love each other so much.”
“I could tell.” Pike ignored the sudden flash of discomfort in his chest. He’d probably had too much coffee. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had more than one cup. Usually, he was in too much of a hurry to get to the gym to linger over breakfast.
“Then why are you a sad clown?” Mia’s brow furrowed.
“I’m not a sad clown.” Pike rolled his eyes as he reached around her to drop his coffee cup in the sink.
“Are you nervous about seeing Dad tonight at dinner?” Mia pressed. “I know he was awful last time, but he’s mellowed out a lot this past year. He only gave Sawyer shit for about two weeks after we moved in together. You guys are going to have a great visit. No need to stress.”
“I’m not stressed.” Pike backed out of the kitchen before Mia could succeed in making him that way. “It’s eight thirty in the morning, sis. I’m still half asleep.”
“Well, I’m here if you need to talk about Dad or the break-up or whatever,” Mia called after him. “I know break-up pain can linger, Pike. Don’t be afraid to bend my ear if you need to!”
“Okay!” he called back before shutting the door to the guest room and changing into his running clothes and knee brace, wishing he’d never invented the stupid break-up story. The longer he was in Lonesome Point, the more the lies seemed to mound up around him. He hadn’t technically lied to Mia this morning, but he hadn’t told the truth, either.
But what was the truth, he wondered as he slipped out the back door to Mia’s shop and started down the road at a slow jog. The past was clear, but Pike had no idea what was going on between him and Tulsi now. Logically, he knew that moment of chemistry in the stock room was better off forgotten, but he couldn’t seem to keep from replaying every moment of their brief interaction as he ran. The way Tulsi’s lips had parted and her breath rushed out. The way surprise had lowered her defenses, giving him a glimpse into what she was feeling. She’d seemed sad, lonely, and as hungry for a taste of what they’d once had as he was. He’d felt her longing thrumming in the air, plucking the strings inside him only Tulsi had ever been able to touch.
Even after an hour long run, a half hour of PT exercises, a cold shower, and another hour spent answering email from his agent, doctor, and physical therapist, he still couldn’t get her face out of his head. By the time Mia got back to the shop after her lunch date, Pike was itching to get out of the apartment and do something to get his mind off a certain curvy little blonde with eyes that saw to the bottom of his soul.