Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
"Thanks for looking out for my girl." Theo was pissed when I told him what happened. He doesn't care if everyone knows Charlotte's name, but he's mad as hell that Jamie's boss tried to force it out of Jamie, especially when Charlotte's been dealing with a fucking creep of her own. Her damn landlord has been breaking into her apartment and stealing her panties.
Wes tackles Logan from behind before Jamie can respond, sending him sprawling across the floor. Logan loses his grip on Wes's phone, which lands at my feet with a clatter.
"Ah, dammit," Logan bitches. "I wasn't finished reading the mopey love shit you were sending Laney."
Wes smacks him in the back of the head and then hops up, grabbing his phone. "Go put some fucking clothes on. We have company."
"I noticed." Logan rolls over, grinning up at us from the floor. "Hey, Jamie."
"Hi," she squeaks.
I growl at him and then look at Wes. "You put some fucking clothes on too. Why isn't anyone ever fucking dressed in this room?"
"Uh, because it's a locker room?" Wes says, looking at me sideways. "We come here to change?"
"Change somewhere else," I mutter.
He smirks at me, humor dancing in his eyes. Not that he has any room to talk. He still gets pissy when Laney accidentally sees shit she isn't supposed to see. And then they end up fucking in the washroom, or he carries her off to some dark corner. That's precisely how she ended up pregnant five minutes after they got together.
"Stop fucking around and get your gear on!" Kris barks, calling everyone to order. Thank fuck. These assholes listen to him. He strides forward to meet us, giving me a chin lift as Wes helps Logan up, and the two of them disappear to get geared up. His icy blue eyes drift over Jamie, curious and reserved. That's just Kris, though. He holds his cards close to his vest, but I've known him long enough to see the empathy and compassion deep in their depths.
He's the heart of this team for a reason. He's a hell of a player and an even better captain. And, like me, he knows exactly what it's like to want something he doesn't think he can have. He's in love with Kelsey. He has been for a long fucking time. But Kelsey's been running since the day they met and hasn't stopped since. Sooner or later, everything she's been holding up will get too fucking heavy, and she'll crack. He'll be waiting when it does. I think he'd wait for her forever if that's what it took.
"Hi, Jamie," he says quietly.
I reluctantly pry my hand away from her eyes. Turns out, I don't just dislike her seeing other men naked. I don't like her looking at other men, period. That's going to be a problem.
"Hi, Kris." She offers him a nervous smile. "I told Jonas I should wait outside, but he wouldn't listen. So it's his fault if I'm invading your space."
His lips pull down into a frown. "You think you're unwelcome?"
She shrugs, her gaze sliding from his.
"Our families are always welcome here," he says, his voice firm.
Her gaze skips back to him, shock written across her face.
"That includes you. You're welcome here."
"I…thank you," she whispers and then bites her lip. "I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused you guys. I never wanted to do that."
"No one is angry with you." He smiles at her. "No one blames you either. As far as everyone here is concerned, you've never been a problem, all right?"
"I…" She stares at him for a long, silent moment, searching his expression. "You mean that, don't you?"
"You were doing your job, sweetheart. We all have jobs to do." His expression darkens. "Yours was a little harder than most, I think. I'm sorry for that. It's a damn shame that men like your boss still find places to hide in this world."
"Not for long," I grunt.
Kris nods his agreement, his gaze shifting to me. "Have you talked to Kelsey?"
"Not yet."
"You need to talk to her. Both of you."
"Is she in her office?"
"Yeah."
"We'll go meet her there."
Kris nods again and then winks at Jamie. "Chin up, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay."
She smiles back, and for the first time all damn day, it reflects in her eyes.
"Hey," Kelsey says, smiling at the two of us when we reach her office fifteen minutes later. Despite the fact that she was probably up late dealing with this, her eyes are bright and clear. If she's tired, it doesn't show. "I was just about to come looking for you."
"Kris sent us."
I lead Jamie inside, not even bothering to pull the door closed behind us. It's not like the damn thing would shut even if I tried. Kelsey seriously needs to clean some of this shit out of her office. I don't even know what half of it is even used for. On second thought, I don't think I want to know what she uses half of it for. It's probably files that cover every single moment of our lives from the instant of our births, including every misdeed and minor transgression. She never forgets those.