Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
We’d always been a touchy-feely kind of family. Well, everyone but Braxton, that was.
I’d never gone a day without a hug from my mother or my father.
And I’d gone nearly six years.
I hugged her a little tighter before I placed her back on her feet, then grinned down at her.
“Jeez, Mom. You act like you haven’t hugged me in six years,” I teased.
She pinched my arm, then said, “That’s not even remotely funny, Bain McDempsey.”
I grinned at her, then turned to my father to offer him a hug that lasted much less in time but no less intense.
“Missed you, kid,” he growled into my ear, sounding slightly gruffer than usual.
I slammed my hand down on his back as I said, “Same. Let’s go eat. I’m dying to have a fuckin’ burger.”
Braxton, who was watching from the entrance with his arms across his chest, looked annoyed by our display.
“Braxton,” I said as I joined him at the door.
He ignored me, not bothering to offer any pleasantries and didn’t bother holding the door as he walked inside.
“Same ol’ Braxton,” I grumbled under my breath.
“Be nice,” my mom said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s tough for him to be here.”
It was tough for him to be here? What?
Before I could ask what that was supposed to mean, she pushed me inside and we followed Braxton as he headed toward a booth in the corner.
One for four.
What?
That wasn’t enough room.
“Where’s Luce?” I asked.
Braxton’s eyes went a little wiry.
“Ummm…” He hesitated.
“Not right now, honey,” my mother whisper-hissed in her “you better watch what you say right this second” tone.
Before I could say another word, a flash of red caught my eye.
Right around that time, Luce came into the main room of the diner. But not to join us for lunch like I’d expected. To deliver the table beside us food.
I narrowed my eyes.
My brother and I, for that matter, were very well-off. As in, we didn’t have to work another day in our lives and we’d be okay. Very okay.
I’d always worked. I’d been in the military. I’d retired from the military. I’d been in private security before shit had gone down that sent me to prison.
If that was the case, why was Luce working? Logically, I knew they were divorced, but I expected her to be able to come here to Moe’s to celebrate my homecoming. Not be working at Moe’s.
Before I could ask, a young girl plopped herself beside Braxton and said, “Hey, babe. Sorry I’m late.”
My eyes went to her hands, which were covering a rounded belly. And then to my brother as I started to connect the dots.
“You stupid fuck,” I said to him.
Luce, who was just about to turn around and head the opposite way, froze at the sound of my voice.
She whirled around and then she was all but throwing herself into my arms.
“Bain!” she shrieked loudly.
And not for the first time, I coveted my brother’s wife.
Or, I assumed, ex-wife was more appropriate.
“Hey there, Luce,” I said softly. “I’m happy to see you.”
She fit into my arms like she was the only one ever meant to be there.
I pulled her close, feeling every single inch of her body pressed to mine and couldn’t stop myself from burying my face into her neck and inhaling deeply.
She squeezed me tighter, her arms closing like vises around my neck.
Then I felt the distinct feeling of tears as they started to roll down my neck and I realized that she was crying.
“Oh, Luce,” I sighed softly.
I hated when she cried.
I hated even more that I was the reason that she was crying.
“I know, I know.” She sniffled as she pulled away.
Her pale-gray eyes were captivating with her tears swimming in them.
I brought my hands up and cupped her cheeks, then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“It was worth it,” I told her.
Worth every single lawyer visit. Restitution fee. Day in prison.
Everything was worth it when it came to Diana “Luce” Grassi.
“If you say so.” She sniffled. “You’re home?”
“I’m home,” I confirmed. “Just got out today. And needed a burger.” I paused. “Why the fuck are you here? And what the fuck is going on behind me?”
CHAPTER 2
When you walk past each other as if you didn’t have two years’ worth of memories with each other.
-things that break my heart
LUCE
What the fuck is going on behind me?
I didn’t have to look to know exactly what Bain was talking about.
Six years ago, when Bain went to prison for a crime that he committed to protect me, life just hadn’t been the same for Braxton and me.
Well, more like, it’d been the same. I just hadn’t been willing to deal with the bullshit anymore.
I’d stopped sleeping with my husband months before Bain went to prison. I just didn’t… like him. Not as a person. Not as my husband. And definitely not as someone I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with.