Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“I did.”
“This is exactly my point. Your home is supposed to reflect something about you. Show a little personality. A little warmth.”
“Maybe this is my personality,” I suggest. “Minimalistic.”
“Nope. This isn’t a personality. It’s depressing, and I won’t stand for it.”
“Nobody is asking you to stand.” I step toward her, then scoop her up by the ass. Caroline wraps her legs around me. I push her up against the new curtains, her back pinned to the wall. “You could take it lying down. On your knees. On your back. Hell, I’m pretty sure we could figure out how to do it upside down if you’re so against standing.”
She chews her lip. “You know what I meant.”
“So what if I did? Now I’m thinking about you. I need your mouth.” I bring my lips to her ear, smirking as my stubble brushes her soft skin. “I need your pussy.”
Caroline goes stiff at my words. “Well… Walker is awake.”
“I’m a patient man,” I counter.
“He could be awake for another hour or more.”
“Alright,” I say. “And?”
She smiles. “What do you see in me, anyway?”
The question is a sudden shift, but I take it seriously, digesting the words and thinking hard. “I see somebody to admire,” I finally say.
She threads her fingers behind my neck. “No, really. What do you see in me?”
“I mean it. You and Jesse both drew a shitty hand. Nobody should lose their parents so young. And look at how you both turned out. Absolute badasses. You’re like the glue that holds an entire town together. People love your B&B. People love you.”
“Do you?” she asks, eyes sparkling.
I raise an eyebrow. Didn’t see that one coming. I stare back at her, pretending I need to think about the question. The truth is, I’ve already asked myself it a hundred times. I already know the answer. I cup her face and kiss her lips softly, pulling on her lower lip with playful suction. “You’re alright,” I say finally.
She whacks me, then smiles. “Asshole.”
The amusement drains from my face as I meet her eyes. “I do, though. Love you.”
Her breath catches. “What?”
“I love you,” I repeat. The words rush out with surprising weight. They feel like a goddamn spell as I utter them–as if they’re more than just words and carry some kind of magic.
“Why?” she whispers.
I laugh. “Why? Because I can’t help it. That was when I decided it was love. I tried to talk myself out of it so many times. I told myself to get over you and focus on the game. I told myself to stop getting distracted–that you were just another woman. And it never worked. I kept coming back for more. I kept thinking about you. When I thought I’d lost you to some nameless asshole who knocked you up, I was fucking devastated. Why do you think I was sparring with barstools and getting drunk every weekend?”
“I didn’t know it was that bad… I’m sorry, Jake. I wish I had told you sooner.”
“And I wish you’d forgive yourself. Things happened the way they did. We’re here right now. That’s what matters.”
She closes her eyes, leaning her forehead against mine. I’m still holding her up, back pressed against the curtains and the wall behind. “I’d tell you how I feel, but I’m pretty sure you already know.”
“Yeah,” I agree, with a playful edge to my voice. “You’re right. No need to state the obvious.” My joking tone does a pretty good job of hiding my pounding heart and tight throat.
She lifts her eyes. “Jake… I tolerate you.”
I laugh. “Now who’s the asshole?”
She bites her lip. “I love you. I love you,” she says it the second time with an air of amazement, like a sudden realization that lifts a long-lingering fog. “I’ve been afraid to admit that for so long. I think I felt like admitting it would make the inevitable part when you realized you didn’t want me hurt too bad. Then Walker happened, and I guess part of me almost couldn’t bear to hear you break things off yourself. It seemed less painful if I assumed I knew what you’d do and did it myself.”
I kiss her forehead, then hug her tight. “I do like the curtains.”
She laughs softly. “You do?”
“Love them.”
32
CAROLINE
“Istill can’t believe we’re doing this,” I say. It feels like I’m hyperventilating. My breath is coming in gasps and hitches. “I’ve never been married before. What if I do something wrong?”
Jake finishes up changing Walker, who decided this was an ideal time to poop himself. He comes over to me in that way of his, radiating calm, control, and command. He cups my face gently, smiling. “We got this, Caroline. And I’m aware you’ve never been married before. Neither have I.”
I nod, trying to calm my breathing. Some part of me never thought we’d actually end up doing this. I imagined we’d cancel the wedding, or I’d wind up hiring some kind of sleazy groom-for-hire service. I thought legal complications would crop up or Peter would find a way to throw a wrench in our plans.