Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“Is that what you want?” I asked lightly. “Someone that disagrees with you all the time?”
“Hell no,” Otto said with a laugh. “But sugar, I wouldn’t want a doormat either. I’m doin’ somethin’ that bothers you, I’d sure as shit want you to speak up, alright?”
“You say that now,” I joked.
“I’m not kiddin’.” Otto leaned forward in his seat. “I’m not in charge of you, Esther. You’re an adult. You make your own choices. We’re married, we’re working as a team—yeah? I got a problem with somethin’ you’re doin’, I’ll say so. I expect you to do the same.”
“Okay,” I replied, hoping that I’d be able to hold up my end of the bargain.
I’d done an okay job standing my ground when it came to not anticipating our wedding more than we already had, but once we were already married? It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I’d be fighting nineteen years of conditioning in order to argue with Otto about anything.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said gently, reaching out to tug playfully on the end of my hair. “This shit ain’t easy.”
“Do you feel robbed?” I asked quietly. “Not marrying someone that you chose?”
He watched me for a long moment before slowly shaking his head. “I chose you that night in the woods,” he said with a small smile. “Just didn’t realize it at the time.”
Chapter 12
Otto
I’d thought that the few days before the wedding were going to drag, considering the blue balls I was sporting, but surprisingly, they flew by. My gramps had told me not to bother coming into work, so Esther and I had spent the past few days together, getting to know each other and unfortunately keeping our hands to ourselves.
We’d gone to dinner at my grandparents’ house so Esther could meet the rest of the family, and she’d done pretty well with the onslaught. There were so many of us that there was no chance of keeping everyone straight, but she’d done her best and by the end of the night had been comfortable enough to be herself and had charmed everyone from my gramps to my cousin’s newborn baby. There was a sweetness to Esther that you didn’t encounter very often, and I was glad that the people that were most important to me recognized it.
“Lookin’ good,” Micky called out from the doorway.
“Esther’s probably thinkin’ I’m gonna be wearin’ a suit,” I replied, smoothing my hair back from my face. It was longer than I usually wore it, but when I’d considered getting it cut before the wedding, the memory of Esther’s fingers running through it had made me reconsider.
“I have a feelin’ she won’t be surprised,” he joked, gesturing at my clothes.
I was wearing a white button-down and the only pair of pants I owned that weren’t jeans, but she was stuck with the work boots and leather. I didn’t have any other shoes, and I wasn’t getting married without my cut.
“They on their way?” I asked, glancing at the door behind him. The clubhouse was bustling with people and more were showing up every few minutes, but I hadn’t seen any of the women that were helping Esther get ready.
“Emilia said they’d be headed over soon,” he confirmed, glancing around. “Looks nice in here.”
“They rented the tablecloths,” I murmured, distracted. “So don’t spill anything.”
Micky laughed. “Nervous, huh?”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Bullshit. You’re talkin’ to me about tablecloths,” he said dryly. “Either you’re nervous or havin’ some kind of stroke.”
“They’re here,” I blurted, forgetting Micky entirely as I strode toward the door.
“I won’t spill anythin’,” he called out behind me, laughing.
“Well, don’t you look nice?” my little sister Myla greeted, setting down a large wrapped box on the bar.
“Who’d you ride with?” I asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Emilia and Rhett.” She laced her arm through mine and tugged me away from the door. “Mom and Dad are bringing Esther in a few minutes. There was some problem with her flowers.”
“What was wrong with her flowers?”
Myla waved off the question. “You ready to get married?” she asked me cheekily, bumping me with her hip. “I like Esther. She could’ve done way better.”
“You’re funny,” I replied flatly. “Ha. Ha.”
“Wait ’till you see her,” she said happily as Rhett and Emilia came through the door. “She looks gorgeous.”
“She always looks gorgeous.”
“Not this gorgeous,” Myla mumbled. “Just wait.”
“Nova’s right behind me,” Emilia told Micky as he helped take Rhett’s jacket off. “Have you seen Rumi? He’s not answering his phone.”
“He and Bird are around here somewhere,” Micky replied. “Everything good?”
“I think she got some news about her grandma,” Emilia murmured with a shrug. “But don’t say anything to him, I think she wanted to talk to him about it before she said anything to Bird.”
I ignored the rest of their conversation and distractedly greeted a couple of other people as they came through the door, forcing myself not to check the time again. Esther wasn’t late, but it felt like I’d been waiting a long ass time for her to show up.