Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Do you want one?”
“Hell, yeah,” Sarah said, taking a seat at the kitchen counter. “Come on, you must have more details to spill? How was Nate?”
Carly rolled her eyes. “He seemed good. I don’t think he’s dating anyone.”
“Nate doesn’t date anyone.”
“Do you think he will ever settle down?” Carly asked.
“For the right woman, I can imagine Nate being a happily married man and devoted father,” Sarah said.
She was not going to get jealous. Any woman who got Nate Smith would be one hell of a lucky woman.
“Oh, that reminds me, I’ve convinced Nate to allow us to use his home for our family get-together. Barbeque and the pool.”
Sarah let out an excited squeal. “Consider it a party, and I have got the perfect bikini for the occasion.”
Carly laughed. She’d provided her friend with enough distraction that she stopped asking a load of questions, which was a relief. She didn’t want to keep talking about Nate and him settling down with a woman, or anyone.
She couldn’t deny it, though, any woman who snagged Nate would be lucky. She knew he acted the tough guy, and yes, he was, but there was a part of Nate that was sweet, kind, loyal, and loving. Any woman who was able to inspire that in him would have to be special.
Chapter Two
“You do realize you don’t have to pay me for this,” Sarah said, shoving the rolled-up hundreds in her back pocket.
“And yet, you take my money?”
“Look, you and I both know what life is like when times are hard, and I always save for a rainy day. That is not going to change anytime soon. You can call me a doomsdayer, realist, or greedy, I don’t give a fuck. I think of myself as a businesswoman and prepared.” Sarah smirked and then dropped down into the chair opposite him.
“Why are you still in my office?” Nate asked.
Sarah didn’t answer right away, and instead reached out and snagged one of his jelly candies, and he didn’t share well. “When are you going to finally put us all out of our misery and tell Carly how you really feel?”
Nate glared at Sarah. “You do realize I hurt people for talking to me that way?”
He got an eye roll. “Yeah, and other people haven’t been by your side, covering your back for, like, eternity. Besides, I like to think of myself as your sister from another Papa and Mama.” She winked at him.
There was no getting rid of her. She’d already gotten settled in her chair and was preparing herself for a big speech.
This wasn’t new to Nate. This was something he was quite used to when it came to Sarah. Not just her, but the guys as well. All three of them had given him a piece of their mind. All of them stating the same thing, constantly pushing Carly’s dates, and threatening him. It wasn’t fair. He either had to stake his claim, or leave her alone.
At this moment in time, he couldn’t do either. None of the other men had been good enough for Carly. If his threat pushed them away so easily, then they didn’t deserve her. It was as simple as that, and he wasn’t going to apologize for it either.
“I’ll pay you extra to leave,” he said.
She snorted. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. You and I both know what you’re doing with Carly isn’t nice.”
“You’re telling me that taking care of her is not nice?”
Sarah blew out a breath. “Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”
To that, he simply raised his brow.
“Fine, fine, wrong kind of … wording. Ugh, you’re a giant butthead when you want to be. Look, Carly has plans, okay? You know she has always wanted to be a mother. A wife. She wants to have that big family.”
“She has us,” Nate said.
“I know, and everyone is more than happy to pretend to be her children. Trust me, the other guys love it when she baby’s them, but come on, you know how amazing she would be as a mother. You’re stopping her from having lots of babies, finding a guy that will love her.”
“Enough,” Nate said.
This time, Sarah did shut up. He couldn’t do it. There was no way he could think of Carly with anyone else. No one else was good enough.
“First of all, the men I have pushed away were not good enough for her. You and I agreed, if they were not willing to fight me for her, then they didn’t deserve her.”
Sarah sighed. “You’re terrifying, Nate, and you do it on purpose. You know that. I know that.”
“And no one is good enough for her, and I’m not going to keep having this discussion.”
She let out a breath. “Fine. Fine. Have it your way, but when Carly is miserable because she thinks her ovaries are going to dry up, then that will be on you. Not on me.” She got up out of her chair, and stormed off toward the door. “You and I both know, as well as the guys, that you love Carly. She has always been that special person to you. If you crossed that line and told her how you felt, you would be a lot happier instead of being a grumpy asshole.”