Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“You could burn yourself. Don’t touch it, just wrap your hands around the stick—”
“That’s what she said,” I muttered.
Timeo’s stunned gaze turned to me. “Did you just make a dirty joke?”
Who, me?
I meant, I didn’t live under a rock. Not anymore, anyway.
To avoid answering, I shoved the toasted marshmallow in my mouth. Flavors exploded — the warm, toasty, sweet taste of the crispy outer layer, quickly followed by the gooey inside, almost a toffee-like consistency. I closed my lips around it and uttered a moan. It was exactly what I hoped it would be — an almost childlike concoction elevated to something more.
A brisk wind blew my hair into my face, and a long strand stuck to the sticky marshmallow on my lip. I squealed, trying to take it off, but only managed to get more hair stuck to my marshmallow-covered fingers.
“Jesus,” Timeo muttered on a laugh, untangling my hands from the mess.
We were so close. He stood taller than me, his eyes warm and amused as he carefully extricated my tangled hair from the gooey marshmallow.
All he had to do was take one step closer.
Bend his mouth to mine…
“Starla!”
“Timeo!”
I blinked at the sound of the voices behind us.
“Eden,” I whispered.
“Sergio,” Timeo said with a sober nod.
We kicked dirt over the fire and came out of the woods onto the main path, each of us holding a roasting stick. But to my surprise, neither Eden nor Sergio seemed to care where we were or what we were doing.
“Starla, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Eden said, uncharacteristically reproachful. She was usually the calm sort.
“I told you she was fine if she was with Timeo,” Sergio said, shaking his head. Timeo stood taller, obviously pleased with his brother’s admiration. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Eden reached for my hand. “They apprehended the remaining elders.”
A sick feeling grew in my belly. I swallowed and kept my head on straight, reminding myself that just today I’d tried to convince Timeo I was an adult. “Did they?”
“Remaining” meant the ones that had escaped brutal retribution at the hands of the Montavios and the Rossis.
“Yes. And that is good news and bad news. The good news is, we’re closer to getting justice served.”
“And the bad news?”
Eden’s face fell. Sergio cleared his throat. “You’ll have to testify in court.”
A sharp knock on the door shakes me out of my memory. I stare down at myself, realizing I’m only half dressed.
Timeo’s immediately awake. He sits straight up and stares at me but doesn’t answer. No one’s supposed to know he’s in here.
“Hello?” I ask. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Tosca, please open. It’s urgent.”
I swivel my gaze to Timeo, expecting him to be halfway to the bathroom to go hide by now, but he’s only sitting there — bare chested and perfect, looking like his slightly tousled hair was styled on purpose for a photo shoot.
Why couldn’t I get Italian genes?
“Go,” I hiss under my breath, gesturing for him to go hide in the bathroom. “Hide!”
He smirks and mouths, “Nope,” at me.
My jaw drops for half a second, before Tosca knocks again.
“Please, Starla!”
Grimacing, I run to the door and throw open the lock. Tosca’s fully dressed, hair in place, makeup perfect. I feel like I just woke up with a hangover, and I didn’t even drink last night.
Her eyes flit over my almost-nothing clothing to Timeo, still sitting in bed like he isn’t half dressed himself. He raises a hand and waves at her.
“It’s not what you think,” I begin, but she throws up a palm and stops me.
“Starla,” she says in a firm voice. “You don’t need to tell me what you haven’t done…” She waves her hand in the air as if this conversation is very quickly coming to a close. “As long as we agree we don’t talk about what you will do.”
Will do?
What?!
Oh. My. God.
She continues, as if I’m not standing here wishing I’d get struck by lightning or at least abducted by aliens. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but Romeo and Sergio are here, and both told me they came here immediately so they could talk to you.”
Why not just call on the phone?
Timeo’s immediately sober. “Be right there.”
Tosca shuts the door behind her.
“Oh my God. That was so awkward. So awkward!”
“Yeah. I should’ve taken the damn couch.”
Would he have slept on the couch?
Does he regret being near me?
It’s then that I notice he’s almost like… the real Timeo. The pallor’s gone from his cheeks and his eyes are bright again. His bare chest and arms show marks, though, cuts and bruises, and he’s got bandages wrapped tightly around his middle. I wish I could wave my fingers over his injuries and make him whole again.
I wonder how long it’s been since he actually slept all night long.
“Yeah, I mean, it looks like we— that I—that you—” My voice trails off because I don’t know how to say the next thing. “Spent…time….with each other.”