Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
She starts to turn, but I stop her. “Could you just walk away, Nat? Would it be that easy?”
She shakes her head and drags in a breath. Her chin quivers, but she seems to pull herself together. “No, it wouldn’t be easy. It would be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Satisfied, I lean down and kiss her lightly on the lips before doing the same to her forehead. I wrap an arm around her and pull her tight against my body. “That’s good, Nat. Because letting you go would be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
We walk the rest of the way to the bakery in silence. As soon as we’re inside, I point to a corner booth. “Have a seat. I’ll get us some food.”
Her eyes widen, but she nods her head and goes to sit down. I’m third in line, and when I get to the front, I order, pay, and watch as the woman behind the counter places my items on plates. She has to go back to the back to get a fresh batch of apple fritters, and I turn to look at Nat, hoping to catch her eye.
My hands fist at my sides, and the smile on my face drops when I see the man at the next table talking to Nat.
She’s smiling and nodding her head, and I keep my eyes glued on her until the woman places the fritter on the tray and says, “That’s everything, sir. You need anything else?”
I grumble, “Thank you,” and her eyes widen at the tone of my voice. I smile, hoping to soften my tone and then stalk over to the table. I set the tray down, and before taking a seat, I lean over, pulling Nat’s head back to kiss her thoroughly. Her moan of satisfaction has me pulling away. My cock is hard, but I force myself to sit across from her and then glare at the man at the next table. He gets the picture fast, smirks at me, and then loads his tray up with his trash. “It was nice talking to you, Natalie. I may see you at the gym soon.”
She nods and smiles at him before turning to me. With her hands on the table, she leans forward and whispers loudly, “What was that all about?”
Her lips are swollen from our kiss, and all it does is make me want to kiss her again, but by the death glare she’s giving me, I know she’d be resistant. “Has it always been like this?”
She leans in closer, still whispering, “Has what always been like this?”
I reach for her hand and lace our fingers together. “Everywhere you go, men hit on you…”
She pulls her hand from mine. “Is that what this is, Beau? You don’t want me until you find out someone else does? If that’s the case…”
I cross my arms on the table to stop myself from reaching for her. “That’s not the case. I’ve always wanted you. I should have known, though, that men were into you like this. I should have paid better attention.”
She shrugs and leans back in her seat. “What does it matter? Just because men flirt with me doesn’t mean that I’m into it. I would never—”
I cut her off before she finishes. “I know you wouldn’t, but that’s not the point. All this time, and I’ve had no idea. I haven’t treated you right, Nat.”
She takes a deep breath. I know she wants to say something, but she’s holding back. “So are we going to eat? I’m starving.”
I want to ask her what she’s thinking. It’s obvious her thoughts are weighing heavily on her shoulders, but since she changed the subject, I don’t want to push. Not yet. “Well, dig in. I got you the quiche Florentine and of course, your favorite, the apple fritter.”
She looks at everything on the tray and smiles. “I can’t eat all this. I’d have to work out for five hours to burn all those calories.”
She picks up her fork and takes a small bite of the quiche. She’s eyeing the fritter as she chews the egg and cheese. It’s obvious by the look on her face what she’d rather be eating.
I pick up one of the two fritters, and her eyes follow as I take a big bite, chew, and swallow. “You know that I love your body.”
She starts to choke but recovers quickly, putting a hand to her chest. “Excuse me?”
I shrug. “I know you enjoy eating healthy and working out, but I thought I should tell you. It seems that there are a lot of things I haven’t told you, and I need to fix that. I. Love. Your. Body. I love everything about it. I love the curves of your hips, the softness of your belly, I love the way you fit in my arms as if you were made just for me. I love everything about you, Nat.”