Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
These flowers were beautiful, though.
Gabriel was … complicated.
He helped her brother, but demanded she become a sex toy in return. They had sex, and yes, the first time wasn’t great, but every time since then, and she had lost count, but it had only been four days, had been amazing. She was a little sore, but it wasn’t a bad sore. Then, he forced her to wear clothes that were a little too figure-hugging for her. That wasn’t all, he then made her dinner. He was constantly doing things that made her contradict her assessment of him. She hated him, then liked him, then hated him again. Gabriel had to stay in the hate column.
She had a feeling her parents wouldn’t have approved of him, or at least not approve of his reputation.
With flowers in hand, she closed her door and made her way toward the kitchen. The flowers were already in a vase. There were some care instructions that required water, and she followed them.
She placed them on the counter and admired the roses. They were so beautiful. The thorns had been removed, which was a shame. She loved the beauty of the rose, from its thorns to the full bloom of the flower.
Stepping back, she made her way to the front door and reached down to pick up the letters. There was nothing but junk mail and a couple of bills.
Faith stopped and then turned her head left and right, staring at her parents’ home. She took a deep breath and tried hard not to let the tears fall.
“Stop it, Faith.” She tried to shake that feeling of loneliness.
She’d not heard from Nigel, but she knew he was safe, or at least she liked to think Gabriel had kept to some kind of code or word, in keeping him safe. This was the first time in her life that she felt so lonely.
She walked into the kitchen and went to the fridge to see that there was nothing to eat. The cheese was way past eating, with the mold spores growing on it. It was going to have to be pizza. One pizza for her. Lonely.
Damn it.
She wouldn’t cry.
There had been many times over the years she had felt lonely. She always brushed those feelings off because they weren’t important. For four days, between work, she’d spent every other time with either Henry or Gabriel. She didn’t talk much to Henry, but with Gabriel, their encounters hadn’t always been fun. They ended with a lot of fun, but still, she hated that she’d rather be with him than home feeling lonely.
After ordering the pizza, she went and took a quick shower, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a long shirt. It had been a hot day, but the night was rather cold.
The pizza arrived and she settled into her sitting room, intent on watching a movie, but she didn’t know which one. Then her doorbell rang.
Checking the time, she saw it was a little after nine at night. This wasn’t good. Putting the slice of pizza back in the box, she licked her fingers and then went to the door. Gabriel was on the other side. She didn’t even hesitate and opened the door, not wanting to even think about how happy she was to see him.
“Gabriel,” she said.
“Plans changed tonight. Can I come in?”
She stepped back and allowed him to enter.
Tucking some of her hair behind her ear, she realized she wasn’t exactly dressed to impress. The clothes she wore had several stains on them, but they were so comfortable.
“Do you want to go out?” she asked.
Clenching her hands into fists, she forced herself to meet his gaze. He’d already removed his jacket and loosened up his shirt. He kicked off his shoes and sniffed the air.
“What’s that smell?”
“Pizza.” She knew her cheeks had to be strawberry-red right now.
“Pizza?”
“I don’t think there’s enough for you,” she said. “I’ve not been shopping, so there’s nothing to cook.” There was no point in her even talking because he walked into her sitting room, opened the box, and wrinkled his nose.
“This is an insult to pizza.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
He came.
She shouldn’t be excited about this, but she was. Not only was she happy to see him, but that knot of loneliness disappeared. This was the first time she’d ever even acknowledged just how lonely she was. Usually, she could focus on her brother, on whatever mess he’d gotten himself into, but this was the first time she didn’t even need to worry about him.
Gabriel was already on his cell, clearly ordering a pizza, and she couldn’t help but smile at the snobbishness of the man. Not that she minded. The pizza was awful. It had an acrid taste of onion, and the truth was, she hated onions more than anything. She didn’t know of any other decent places to get pizza.