Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
She looked up and waved so I closed the door, not wanting to interrupt. I checked on the other kids and then made my way to the bathroom, taking a hot shower to relax. Then I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. I couldn’t sleep right away though.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened in the woods before we were interrupted. About what I had wanted to happen. About how close I had been to begging Jaken to make me his, once and for all.
I knew what he meant when he said he wanted to be alone with me. I had been close to telling him that I wanted it, too. I didn’t want to seem too eager.
But I was.
I lay in bed for hours, imagining what being alone with Jaken might be like… in my mind, it was very, very nice.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Shane
“I think if we build it into the hill, here, making use of the natural bedrock, it could really be spectacular.”
Jaken nodded, staring down at the plans I had drawn up for his new home. He had bought the land already. To be honest, I was a bit nervous for him.
The house we were designing was way too big for just one man. He would need to fill it. And from what I had heard, the lady in question came with a built-in family.
Just add water, as the saying went.
Of course, the lady had no idea he was doing all of this for her. She had barely agreed to be his girlfriend. Having her move in and marry him was a whole other level.
Two levels, actually. Both levels that I highly endorsed. But only with the right person. It was obvious she was right for him. I could only hope she felt the same way.
He was a damned good man. He deserved happiness. And I knew why he wanted to get ahead of all this. Have the plans ready to go for when she said yes.
And she would say yes. She had to. I wasn’t sure my friend would survive it if she didn’t.
Not a lot of people knew Jaken’s whole story. I was privileged to have stayed up all night drinking and talking with him on more than one occasion. We knew each other’s shit.
The man had been through hell and back, with no promise of it ever relenting. Separated from the only home he had ever known, and the only family… well, I could relate. But my exile had been deliberate. His was… not.
And we were both exiles because of the same thing. Love for our little brothers. Being a big brother was an important job. One we both took seriously.
I had done everything I could to avenge my brother’s murder. Jaken had taken the fall for something his little brother had done, or tried to do. And once that had happened, there was no going back. He couldn’t very well call Scotland Yard and tell them they had made a mistake, now could he?
Although from what Cain had said, that was exactly what Jaken was considering doing., even though he knew he could lose everything by going home to clear his name. We were all trying to talk him out of it. And it was all for this one woman. But that last part, I could totally relate to.
It was one adorable young woman who had gotten me to put down my hatred. My fury. My fear. My revenge. My heartbreak. I had put it all down for Parker, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I had laid down my load, and gotten so much in return. More than I could have ever dreamed of. A wife. A life. A family.
Things were good. Better than they should be. Miraculous, even.
All thanks to a scrawny kid who I’d found getting her ass kicked in the clubhouse parking lot. Except I’d thought she was a he. That was one mistake that I was pretty sure I would never live down.
I said goodbye to Jaken after finalizing the rustic modern design of the house. It would have looked at home in any architecture magazine, if I did say so myself. I was proud of this one. And so happy that my friend was going to get to live in it.
If she loved him as much as he loved her.
If she said yes.
If the wind was blowing in the right direction, on that particular day, with that particular woman. If the stars aligned. Jaken might actually get what he wanted. He might get a wife to call his own.
I wished him luck and headed home to my wife.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Parker
“Dear God. How did I ever think you were a boy?”
I turned to see my husband standing in the doorway. He looked stunned. I hadn’t heard him come in. Otherwise, I would have had the matching robe over my new black silk and lace peignoir.