Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Every day of my life, Laird.” I cover his hand. “I will love your child as well. I didn’t know where you would stand on the issue until now. I had thoughts of you wanting to marry her.”
Shaking his head, he balks to himself. “When I said I didn’t know her, I meant it. No recollection whatsoever.”
“You can have any woman you want. You chose her to have sex with, so something drew you to her.”
“Probably a lot of alcohol and drugs.” He pulls his hand back to driving again. “I did more than get up to the usual trouble in Nashville. I still have two years before I can return.”
“You were banned from an entire city?” I let my surprise drop my jaw to the floorboard.
“Are you impressed?” He winks. The cocky grin hangs on his face.
Impressed? I shrug. “I kind of am. Luckily, I don’t need to go to Nashville anytime soon.” I wiggle in, getting more comfortable knowing we still have hours to go. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened in Nashville? The full story?”
“You want to know about Nashville? You want to hear all my dark secrets?”
“Every last one.”
His smile fades as he seems to get caught in a memory. “I was coming off . . . the breakup, the loss I didn’t see coming. I was wasted before we landed, sitting at a bar at two in the afternoon shooting pool with strangers. Not a place where tourists hang out but an old timers’ kind of bar with locals and some unsavory types. It was just the place I could blend in without getting noticed.”
“You? Unnoticed? I think you’re blind to what you look like. Your height alone makes you a head taller than everyone else.”
“I appreciate the compliments, but there are plenty of guys my size.”
“Keep fooling yourself, giant.” I swirl my hand, leading him to continue. “Carry on.”
I earn a grin, but I’m still working on a chuckle to keep things light for him. “You’re right. I didn’t blend in as much as I thought. Add Nikki and Shane showed up, and we had ourselves a party.”
“And by party, I’m assuming you don’t mean the fun kind?”
“No.” He slows in a sea of red brake lights flowing before us. “It started with some guy discussing what he wanted to do to my sister. Fuck.” He rubs his temple, getting agitated. “I don’t remember what he said, but he became enemy number one. Hitting him brought five others out of the woodwork. Shane was sucker punched, thanks to me. My sister actually landed a solid right hook to some guy’s face. Her hand swelled up immediately.”
“Oh my God. I’m glad she’s okay. What about you and Shane?”
“My cousin had my back, but so did some other guy who hit me with a barstool. They’re lucky it took me out.”
The gasp comes fast, and then I touch the back of his head, gently rubbing as if I can heal the past. “Laird. I don’t know what to say. It’s just so awful.”
“I know. That wasn’t even the worst of it. We got out of there only for me to hook up with some women from a restaurant next door.”
“Women? As in plural?” I laugh, but then it sinks in. “Wait, how many are we talking about?”
We finally turn off the freeway. The road ahead is a lot less crowded, allowing us to go top speed, which he takes full advantage of. I notice he’s not as fast in answering my question, making me wonder if I don’t want to know. He eventually slows to the speed limit, though, eyes me, and says, “Four.”
“Four? Oh wow. I thought you’d fudge the numbers for my sake. Guess not.”
Rubbing my shoulder, he looks between me and the road ahead. “Moving forward, would you like me to?”
“No. I just wasn’t expecting four. That’s a lot at one time . . . or was it not together?”
“Are you really asking, Poppy?” When I nod, he replies, “Both.”
“Oh God,” I sigh, resting my head on my hand. With my elbow supporting me, I stare out the window, unsure what to think. Sliding my gaze back to him, I ask, “Are three more women going to file for paternity tests?”
If a glare could level me, I’d be as flat as a pancake. “I think we’re good.”
“Well, you never know.” Still stuck in a bout of shock, sarcasm defines my thoughts.
He focuses forward. “This is why I wasn’t sure if I should discuss it with you.”
“I’m coping through joking. But I am curious how all those body parts work together, or is there some coordination going on?”
“Um . . .” He starts but stops.
“Exactly. Even you don’t know, and you were there.”
“I remember a few things about that night, but I’m not going to share them with you. You’ll have to use your imagination.”