Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
She steps forward, and I take her into my arms.
Who am I to say no?
She was my wife, and once, I thought she was the only person I would ever love.
Being shorter than me, her head rests perfectly on my chest as she curls her arms around my waist, her small body molding against mine. Closing my eyes, I exhale, allowing myself just this one moment to let myself feel, because when I step away, I know I’ll have to make a choice.
How the fuck do I do that?
I have a child, a stepdaughter, both of which I adore.
I’m with someone, and I fucking love her.
It should be easy, so why isn’t it?
Why the fuck is this so hard?
“OH MY GOSH, CHARLIE,” Harper squeals. “That is disgusting!”
“It’s good for your skin, Harper.” He grins, tossing a handful of the greyish colored clay he dug out of the river. “Try it, it’ll get rid of those wrinkles.”
“I do not have wrinkles.” She laughs, the sound like a song as she reaches down and throws a handful of clay back.
Chuckling, I lean back on the cold stones beneath, letting the cool water run over my body as I watch the two of them throwing clay at each other. I don’t know what I’d do without these two, and I could never imagine a world without them in it. They’re my best friends, but more than that, they’re my family.
“Protect me, prince.” Harper laughs, throwing herself onto my lap and burying her face into my chest.
“Not helpin’ you out, babe. This one is on you.”
“You know,” Charlie says, circling us, a big handful of clay ready to be thrown, “you two have made me the awkward third wheel. I follow you both around like I have no other friends.”
Harper snorts. “We’re a package deal, Charlie Bear. You know that. Where we go, you go.”
Charlie grins down at her. “Until you two want some alone time and I find myself stuck at home while you romantically galivant across the country.”
I chuckle. “Never, man.”
“Are you going to throw that clay, or what?” I grin, wrapping my arms around Harper and laughing at her squeals when she realizes what I’m doing.
Charlie tosses the clay at her, and it splatters over her back as she bites my chest, a punishment for what I’ve just done.
“That was you two ganging up on me, and Charlie thinks he’s the third wheel. No one can kill a budding bromance.”
I pinch her bottom, and she bites down onto my chest again, making me growl.
“Careful, baby,” I murmur, looking down at her. “If you keep biting me, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop what I do next.”
Her eyes flash, and a slow smile spreads across her face. “Bring it on.”
“Hey.”
Looking up, I see Harper standing in front of me, looking not a single day older than she was the last time I saw her. Wearing a tight-fitting sundress that flares at the bottom, with her long hair down in curls, she is the picture of perfection. Harper always had an innocent kind of beauty, like an unpicked flower, blooming and perfect. The light scattering of freckles across her nose are new, but they only add to her look.
Her looks were always deceiving though, because she had this wild streak that used to drive me crazy. I loved it, almost more than the innocence, because she would just live her life as if it wasn’t dark and bitter, as if it didn’t hurt her daily. She never let it show and she was always up for an adventure. She was just so fuckin’ easy to love.
“You look beautiful,” I say, standing and leaning down, kissing her cheek.
She flushes and tips her head back to look up at me. “How is it you haven’t changed? Though, I don’t think you were quite so colorful before.”
Reaching out, she traces her finger down the tattoos on peeking out from my black, button-down shirt that is undone at the top.
“Not the same man you knew before.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here to find out. I want to know who you are now, what your life is like.”
We sit down at a booth and a waiter comes over, taking our drink order. Once he’s gone, Harper leans on the table, putting her chin in her hands as she stares across at me, her eyes soft. “So tell me, you’re part of a motorcycle club now. That’s pretty intense.”
I shrug. “When I lost you, I didn’t have much left. Without you and Charlie, felt like my world was crumblin’, so I left and met a guy who ran a club. We hit it off and he patched me in. Never looked back.”
Her eyes sadden at the thought of Charlie.
“Gosh, I would do anything to hear his laugh one more time. I’ll never stop missing him.”