Total pages in book: 185
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
“I’m not a guy you picked up off the internet. Sorry.” He deposits soft kisses along my neck to my jaw … to my mouth. Then he relinquishes a grin. “I broke into your house. So just plan on being held hostage the rest of the night. Then I’ll leave in the morning. After coffee.”
“It’s just sex.”
Again, he chuckles. “Yeah, yeah … it’s just sex. The way it was always just a kiss. Just my hand up your shirt. Just your fingertips slipping into the back pocket of my jeans. You’ve failed miserably at minimizing everything about us when it suited you.” He lifts his head and rolls us so he’s on his back.
I sit up, straddling him while I tuck my breasts back into my bra. “Just is just a word, no matter how I’ve ever used it.” I stand, snagging my clothes from the ground, and make my way to the bathroom. “You minimized us to nothing when you left.” I shut the door behind me.
After a good fifteen minutes, I open the door, ready to kick him out of my house. He’s not here. “Colten?”
Nothing. Peeking out the front window, I don’t see his vehicle. After a deep sigh, I head to bed. That’s that. I had sex with Colten Mosley. Now I know.
I can check that box off some ridiculous list in the back of my head before I crawl into bed, curling into a ball, wrapping my arms around my midsection. With my eyes closed, I imagine my arms are his arms. I imagine what it would feel like to only feel the good things.
His touch.
The warmth of his smile.
The caress of his words at my ear.
He made me hate him. It’s a poison that won’t leave my body.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Plans for the weekend?” Alicia asks Friday afternoon.
It’s been four days since Colten left my house without a goodbye. His usual MO. Detective Rains visited yesterday, but Colten hasn’t so much as sent a text to me.
“I’m driving to Des Moines early in the morning. My parents’ neighbor died. She was like another grandma to me. She moved in right after my brother was born, and she was his babysitter for years. Vera made the best blackberry jam from her blackberry bushes.”
“Sorry to hear about her death.”
I shrug, stuffing my PPE in the trash. “Colon cancer. She was seventy-two.”
“Well, have a safe trip.”
I smile. “Thanks. See you Monday.”
I arrive in Des Moines a little before eleven Saturday morning. The funeral’s at three, and I need a shower after leaving so early this morning.
“Hey, hon.” Mom pulls me in for a hug after I set my overnight bag by the stairs. “How was the drive?”
“Fine.”
She releases me. “Benji called this morning. His flight was canceled, so he won’t make it.”
I frown. “That’s too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him.”
“Well, now Colten can sleep in his room instead of on the sofa sleeper.”
“What?” I nearly choke on my words.
Mom heads into the kitchen. “He should be here soon. I’m surprised you two didn’t ride together. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you two reconnected after he moved to Chicago. I had to hear it from Becca. She called me after visiting with you there. Gosh, I hadn’t talked to her in … well, too long. She sounded good.”
I watch her cut potatoes for the grill. “He … he’s a homicide detective, so our paths occasionally cross. He said his mom was in town, so we had dinner one night. I’m not sure that’s reconnecting. And uh … why is he staying here?”
“He’s coming for Vera’s funeral, of course.”
I shake my head slowly and mumble, “Wow. He couldn’t make it to his own father’s funeral, but he’ll come home for a neighbor’s funeral.”
“What’s that, Josie?”
“Nothing. What I meant was, why is he staying here?”
“It’s just for one night. Your dad and I thought it would be silly for him to get a hotel room. He’s always felt like a son to us anyway.” She glances up from the cutting board, stilling her hands. “Is everything good between you two now?” Her brow furrows. “I know that’s probably a silly question. What’s it been? Seventeen? Eighteen years? I hope you’ve both had a chance to laugh it off and move on.”
“Laugh what off?”
“The whole fiasco of him choosing to enlist when you were heading off to college. You never said anything, but I knew you were upset that your friend was leaving to enlist. But look how everything turned out for the best?”
Friend?
“You know, there are a lot of affordable hotels around here. Benji’s bed is a twin bed. Colten would probably be more comfortable in a hotel. I bet he only accepted your offer because he was afraid of hurting your feelings.”
Before she can respond to my brilliant suggestion, there’s three knocks at the door, and it creaks open behind me.