Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
I took a step toward her, not breaking through the human barricade, but standing tall on the other side of it, holding her gaze with the weight of the world resting on my shoulders.
“I will love you, Chloe, with every broken shard of what’s left of me. And I will rebuild with you — for you. If this is what you want. If you feel the same. And if you don’t, I will let you go.” I shook my head, throat tight as I whispered. “But between you and me, I am a very selfish man. And I… I don’t want to let you go. I don’t want to live another moment without you. All of you. In every way you’ll be mine.”
When the last word was said, I realized how hard I was breathing, how much my hands trembled before I shoved them into my pockets.
A quiet hum fell over the four of us, though in my mind, it was only me and Chloe in that moment. It was just me, standing there with what little I had to offer, and her, holding the power to crush me or make me whole again.
She rolled her lips together, sniffing before she tried to shove through her mom and grandma. For a moment, they resisted her. I saw them share a look, one I couldn’t quite read.
And then they parted like the Red Sea.
Chloe blinked, like she was surprised she didn’t have to fight them.
“I don’t know about you,” her grandmother said to her mom. “But Gerald never said anything like that to me.”
Chloe’s mom let out a puff of a laugh, waving her hand. “Please. Brian would sooner chew off his own foot than say a damn nice word about me.”
They both softened a bit, like they were in their own world, and then Chloe’s grandma pulled her into a hug, and her mom turned to look at me.
“If you hurt her…” she threatened, not even needing to lift a finger for me to feel the warning loud and clear.
“You have full permission to take me out,” I said. “In whatever way you want. I accept baseball bat to the head or being run over by a car.”
The woman’s mouth tilted at that, like she wasn’t sure how she felt about me yet — but she was warming.
“Come on, Mom,” she said, looping her arm through the older woman who shared so many similarities. “Let’s leave them to it.”
She stopped only long enough to touch her daughter’s cheek, thumbing it and whispering, “Be careful with that heart of yours.”
Then, the women left us, and Chloe rushed into my arms.
I pulled the door shut before crushing her to me, inhaling her sweet scent — chai and sugar and crayons. I clung to her like she wasn’t real, burying my face in her neck before I finally set her feet back on the ground.
“Okay, what was all that?” she said, sniffing and smacking my chest playfully. “I’m not good with words and then proceeds to wax poetry?”
“Honestly, I think I blacked out.”
She chuckled, winding her arms around my neck. Her eyes searched mine, her brows folding in. “You love me?”
I nodded, sweeping her hair back and running my thumb along her jaw. “Think you can love me back?”
“Hmm… maybe. You are pretty talented with a Popsicle…”
She smiled with the tease, pressing up onto her tiptoes until her mouth melted with mine. I slid my hands into her hair to hold her there, breathing in that kiss, that woman, that moment. I never wanted to let her go. I never wanted to remember what it was like before her.
“I love you already,” she whispered against my lips. “I fell for you long ago — even though everyone on Reddit warned me against it.”
I blinked. “Um… did you just say Reddit?”
Her cheeks flamed, and she slid her hand down to mine. “I’ll tell you about that another time.”
“I think I’d like to know now,” I insisted as I followed her to the car. She bypassed hers, a silent agreement passing between us that we’d worry about getting it later.
“Well, you’ll have to wait. Because right now, I want to go home.”
“Home,” I echoed, holding the car door open for her.
She paused long enough to press her lips to mine with a smile. “Home.”
Chloe slid inside the passenger seat, and I drove her to the house just as she asked, but I knew the truth.
Home was wherever she was.
You Little Brat
Chloe
The dinner table was alive with laughter that night.
Uncle Mitch and Chef Patel sat on one side, Ava and I sat on the other, and Will was at the head. Despite her ankle still being swollen and tender, Ava charmed us with her stories of the day, making a recovery day of watching movies sound like a safari adventure.