Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
“I expect details tomorrow morning,” Lee orders. “Understood?”
“Go away, mate,” Jack says instead, his voice firm.
Once Lee’s footsteps retreat, I sit up and demurely wipe my mouth. “You’re going to be interrogated tomorrow,” I warn Jack. “Like, waterboarding levels of grilling.”
“Worth it.” He tugs me toward him to plant a kiss on my cheek.
I nestle closer, reaching for the soft fleece throw at the foot of his bed. I pull it over us and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Wish you could spend the night in my bed,” he says.
“Lee wakes me up with a cup of coffee every morning. He’ll legit call the cops if he finds my bed made and me missing.”
“At least stay till I fall asleep then?”
My heart melts against my rib cage. He keeps lowering his guard around me and it’s…exhilarating. It’s a weird thing, Jack’s inner defense system. It’s not the same as Nate’s guarded nature, which is a result of Nate not trusting other people. Jack doesn’t trust himself. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s becoming clearer the more time we spend together.
The mattress suddenly vibrates, tickling my leg, and I reach down to find the source.
“It’s your phone. Here,” I say, passing it to him.
Jack checks the notification and there’s no mistaking the way his entire body tenses.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“All good.” With a quick motion, he swipes the notification away. “Just an email.”
Something about his vague answer raises my own guard. “Who’s emailing so late?”
Jack leans over to set his phone on the nightstand, then wraps his arm around me again. “Mate from school. He’s a night owl.”
It doesn’t sound like a lie, but it also kind of does. I decide not to push, because at the end of the day, it isn’t really my business. We’re not exclusive, and I’m not his girlfriend.
I push my rising unease away and force myself to focus on snuggling and pillow talk.
“You heard from your brothers lately? Any update on the evil Bree?”
“They’re still broken up, far as I know.” He sounds pleased. “Shannon says she and Mum went out for a secret celebration dinner.”
“Dude. No wonder you’re too scared to bring women home. They really hated this one, huh?”
“Oh yeah.” His hand moves over my shoulder in an absent-minded caress. “They’re protective is all. We’re a tight-knit clan. Always looking out for one another.”
“Honestly, that sounds wonderful. Being an only child is lonely. And I didn’t even get to grow up with both parents. Dad and I are close, but sometimes I wonder what it would’ve been like to have a mom and dad in the same house, maybe a couple of siblings.”
“It’s nice,” Jack admits. “Chaotic, certainly. But nice.”
“How old were you when your dad died?”
“Six. Things got rough after he passed. Real bloody rough. Noah became the man of the house at the ripe old age of ten. Shannon was only a toddler.”
“I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been for your mom.”
“It was bad for a while. There’s a decent welfare system in Sydney, but not the best. Other family members tried to help out, but they weren’t exactly wealthy themselves. By the time I was thirteen, I was working three jobs. Two under the table for cash.”
“That does sound rough.” I squeeze his hand in sympathy.
“Yeah.” He speaks in a faraway tone now. “Never really got to be normal like other lads. I mean, of course, we partied. Raised hell when we got the chance. But keeping the family afloat came first. Helping Mum out was more important than anything else. Girls, parties. None of that mattered.”
Curiosity tugs at me. “What about the girl you were dating in high school? You said it was a steady thing.”
He hesitates.
“Sorry. You don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want.”
“No, it’s fine.” He shrugs. “There was one girlfriend. Lara. She was fantastic. And I…” I feel his chest dip as he swallows. “I let her down, over and over again.”
I suddenly remember something he’d said the day we went for that drive. About how there are standards you need to meet when you’re in a relationship. How he’s never been able to meet them.
“Is that why you think you’re bad at relationships?” I sit up with a slight frown.
“I was a shit boyfriend. I stood her up on her birthday.”
“Seriously?”
“It wasn’t intentional. I was supposed to get off early at the surf shop where I worked to take her out, but two of my coworkers called in sick, and the manager said he’d pay me overtime to stay. I figured I’d make it up to Lara, but she wasn’t having it.” He laughs without much humor. “I tell you, I’ve never had a verbal beatdown like that.” The laughter fades as he bites his lower lip. “She said I was the most selfish person she’d ever met.”