Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 75643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Are y’all finally ready to eat?” Brielle snapped.
I looked up and found her in the doorway, arms crossed, and tapping her foot.
“Pru, you think you can hang here with Cass and Zee for a minute?” I asked softly.
Pru nodded without saying a word.
“I’ll be back,” I muttered.
I exchanged looks with Cass and he nodded his head, understanding that they were to both be nice and keep Pru away while I chewed Brielle out.
“Brielle,” I said when I got to where she was standing in the doorway. “We need to have a little chat.”
She wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what I was about to talk to her about.
Meaning she immediately started in without me telling her what I wanted to talk to her about.
Brielle pouted at me with sad eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to cause a problem. She’s just a puzzle I can’t figure out. She’s not your usual type, and each time I’m around you, you seem to fall deeper and deeper under her spell.”
“I’m in love with her, Brielle,” I told her bluntly. Sometimes blunt was the only thing that worked with her when she started obsessing over something. “And I’m tired of you making the woman that I love feel like she doesn’t belong. Continue doing it, and you’re not only going to push her away, but you’re going to make me follow in her direction.”
With that, I walked back to the party and didn’t stop, even when I heard Brielle’s hitched sob.
I wouldn’t be swayed by her tears.
They were no longer important to me, and I didn’t care if she cried.
There was only one woman that I cared about enough to handle that bullshit I’d just handled, and the difference between Brielle and Pru was that Pru wouldn’t ever put me through it to begin with.
Chapter 13
Why fall in love when you can fall asleep?
-T-shirt
Pru
The day had come, and I’d sworn I wouldn’t cry.
I was a big, fat liar.
I could already feel the tears stinging my eyes, and we hadn’t even made it all the way into the airport yet.
Hoax was dressed in his desert digital camo, and he had a massive green bag slung over his shoulder.
He didn’t look strained at all, but the bag wasn’t light. Not in the least.
I’d tried to pick it up to help him take his shit outside, but I’d only been able to get it as far as the front porch steps because Bacon had been laying on the top step sunning himself, making the stairs impassable.
“Pru, baby?”
I realized that I’d spaced out, and was now standing in front of the security desk.
“I don’t understand why they won’t let me through,” I pouted.
Hoax dropped a kiss onto my mouth. “Because they have to follow protocol.”
I rolled my eyes. “But I want to stay with you for the next hour until your flight.”
He tugged on my ponytail and grinned. “What, exactly, would you talk to me about?”
I started to squirm as I thought about what we’d done a lot of over the last few days.
“Well, it is still baby making weather outside.” I paused. “They probably won’t let your flight take off anyway.”
His smile looked sad as he replied.
“It’s a military flight. They’ll take off unless the winds are too high. Rain and lightning won’t bother them.”
I frowned, wanting to say something more, but didn’t.
He was still being highly secretive about his job, and I didn’t want to bring something up he’d have to lie about. I tried to keep my questions to a minimum because I could definitely see how much he hated keeping secrets from me.
A boom of thunder shook the glass windows that were surrounding us, and I grinned.
“Too bad there’s not a private room here for us to use…” I teased.
His eyes flared, and he started to glance around curiously.
I shook my head and started backing away. “Oh, no you don’t.”
“Yes.” He tugged me in the direction of a handicap bathroom that looked to be only one stall. “I do.”
I put on the brakes, trying to dig my heels in, but in a feat of strength, he just picked me up and tossed me over his free shoulder.
Without actually causing a big stir and screaming, really bringing attention to the fact that we were headed to a private bathroom to do obvious things that we probably shouldn’t be doing in a public place, I was forced to hold my tongue.
But, although I was worried someone would catch us, a tiny thrill of excitement was coursing through my body.
Luckily, Hoax was flying out of the local airport, meaning there were about eighteen people in the entire place, most of them occupied doing other things.
However, Bayou and Brielle had been behind us at the front doors, prepared to wait to see him off—or at least his plane take off. There was no way that they were missing what Hoax was doing, and where he was taking me.