Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 157140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“What’s up, Lancaster?”
“Any chance I can speak to your darling wife without her wanting to kick me in the balls? I don’t have her number.”
He chuckles. “Dakota wants your balls crushed? What did you do?”
“It’s about Eliza.”
“Oh. Oh, shit.” I hear soft chatter and a baby laughing in the background. “If you guys are busy—”
“No, it’s fine,” he clips. “What happened? Is she okay?”
“She’s in the hospital.”
“Damn. I’m sorry to hear—”
“Hello? What did you do to her, you lump of numbnuts?” Dakota answers sharply, no doubt jerking the phone away from her husband.
I grit my teeth.
I explain the situation, ending with, “She’s okay minus what looks like a few bruises, just resting and under observation. I don’t want her waking up alone—”
“And you left her?”
The accusation is as clear as it was when Destiny flung it in my face.
“I’m on my way back there now. I had to get my teenage daughter settled for the night with a housekeeper to watch the place.” I pause. “I’ll be there when she wakes up. I’m just not sure I’ll be the person she wants to see when she opens her eyes, and if I’m not...” I trail off.
“You want me as a backup.” She’s silent for a long while before she says, “Holy crap. Maybe you’re actually a decent guy after all and you do deserve her.”
“I’ll see you in a few,” I say, hearing my phone click off.
She already hung up on me.
I wonder if Dakota Burns is right.
Do I deserve her at all?
My past nearly got her slaughtered tonight, and I left her vulnerable because I wasn’t man enough for a heart-to-heart before she wound up in a fishing chest.
Troy was right about one thing in his psychotic, babbling attack.
I could have lost her.
My pride, my moodiness, my refusal to face the past on anyone else’s terms nearly got her killed.
I see my life without her for a moment, spinning through one desolate, cold scene after the next.
Fuck.
Without Eliza, life is bleak.
After tonight, I’d lay down my life for that woman in a heartbeat ten thousand times.
Regardless, it’s her choice.
If she wants to walk away from me, I have to let her.
She has a right to peace from my toxic shit storm of a life.
Technically, my mangled past shouldn’t be a problem anymore with Troy behind bars, but what if he left behind scars? What if she decides all too fairly that my bullshit just isn’t worth it?
The stakes are so high it hurts.
This is what I get for falling in love with a bright, whip-smart angel who deserves so much more than I can ever give her.
And that angel rules my head all damn night after I make it back to the hospital and collapse in a chair.
I dream of her in that fluttering island dress she wore in Kona, the salty, sassy taste of her lips, the fragrant orchids mingling with her own scent of coffee and mischief.
When a heavy hand on my shoulder wakes me up in the morning, I look up and see Lincoln’s amused face staring down, a baby balanced in his other arm.
“Hey. She’s awake now,” he tells me. “Nurse said she started asking for Dakota first thing.”
I stiffen.
Dakota. Not me.
I stand, grabbing the light jacket I’ve had draped over myself like a sheet all night and head for the hallway.
“Wait, you’re leaving?” he asks.
“Eliza needs a friend and I won’t get in the way of that,” I say dryly, my throat parched. “The second she’s ready for me, I’ll be there.”
I storm out of the hospital, wondering how badly I’ve boned my entire life. All because I couldn’t talk to her like a normal human being.
I turn around twice, second and triple guessing, but ultimately head for my car.
Indecision doesn’t suit me.
Neither does causing this broken cup of a woman even another second of pain.
If and when she’s ready, I’ll see her.
And whether she ever gives me the chance or not, my entire heart and soul will forever belong to Eliza Angelo.
25
Perfect Blend (Eliza)
Almost a week since the craziest night of my life and the world won’t stop.
It’s still spinning.
I’ve been crashing at Dakota’s place ever since I left the hospital. It was just easier, especially when I started hyperventilating at the thought of spending a night alone in my apartment.
I can’t be alone with these nightmares.
The ones where that sneering, leather-faced lunatic gets out of jail and comes to finish me off.
Dakota’s place has a gate and awesome high-tech security, being a billionaire’s place and all. I just wish it wasn’t such a pitiful substitute for the man who left that day before I worked up the nerve to ask for him...
Then again, after the way we stomped on each other’s hearts, I might not want to see me either.
He put his life on the line.