Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“Shut it, Jewls.”
“I’m not shutting it! I look like a wet rat.”
I thread a hand through her hair and pull her lips to mine. “Just gave you four orgasms. Think you could tone the sass?”
Her jaw drops and she pushes against me. “Dishing out orgasms doesn’t mean you can haul me around.”
My lips curl up. “Next time, we’ll go with five.”
She huffs, but the flame of desire gives her away.
“Jewls, you’re always gorgeous.”
She presses her lips together, and the irritation disappears. “You’re lucky you’re hot.”
“I’m lucky for many other reasons.”
“Stop being sweet after you manhandled me.”
“Never.”
I crank up the engine and release her.
“Where are you going?” Her voice is a little jittery when I take a left off our street.
“Holmes Court.”
“You can’t!”
“Why?”
“I can’t face Harley right now. She’ll know something immediately.”
“Babe, you’re overreacting.”
“No, Major, I’m not. You won’t understand because you’re not a woman, but I missed her birthday. I’m her best friend and her maid of honor, and I broke all the rules. Even though I sent her flowers, it’s no replacement for getting her rip-roaring drunk and partying until we passed out.”
“Is that what you usually do on your birthdays?”
“Yes, it’s a ritual.”
“That is problematic.” I can’t cover my amusement.
“Problematic? She’ll take one look and know I’m hiding something. You agreed we’d wait until closer to the second trimester to tell.”
“We’re not going to Ace and Harley’s. We’re going to my lot.”
“They live on the same street.”
“Jewls, chill.”
She throws her hands in the air, continuing her rant. All words die when we pull up and she spots the leveled dirt on all the plots of land. “What’s going on?”
“Stay put.”
She disregards my instructions, hopping out and meeting me halfway around the truck.
“You’re not wearing shoes.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“This is an active construction zone.”
“Maybe you should explain that and stop worrying about my feet.” Her hands go to her hips.
“A crew came in and cleaned the land last week.”
“This mean you guys are finally ready to build?”
“I am.”
She slants her head, studying me closely. Her thoughts become clear and she pales.
“They cleared the land last week, before I knew about the baby.”
“But why now? Doug told you about his plans months ago.”
“I made the decision that night. With everything that happened, it dropped low on the priority list. There was time. That’s changed.”
“Why has it changed?”
“I want three kids. We both have big families, so I figure we’ll need at least five bedrooms, which is doable in a single story with the dimensions of the lot. If you want to push that to six, we will need to build up.”
Her eyes pop out of her head and hands fall from her hips. “You want three kids?!?”
“I can go to four.”
She jerks, holding her stomach. “Have you seen what this jellybean does to me?”
“You haven’t been sick in two days.”
“You want a six-bedroom house?” She dodges my statement.
“It’s your call.”
“Major, do you know how insane this sounds? We’ve been dating for… I don’t know… like, a minute. These are huge decisions.”
“That’s why we need to get started.”
“I have a home. We don’t need to jump into this and make rash judgments.”
I fold my arms around her waist, pulling her to me. “I want our baby to come home to our home, not to a temporary place until our house is built.”
“We can’t build a house together. It’s too soon.”
“Ace and Harley did it.”
“Because they’ve been in love with each other forever.”
The implication burns low in my gut. “What are you saying?”
“Seriously, Harley and Achilles? They fell in love as teenagers. There was never any doubt they’d end up married. Look at them together.”
“Jesus, Jewls, look at us together. I may not have loved you since I was seventeen, but that is because I didn’t know you. A piece of my heart belonged to you since that weekend years ago and carried the flame. Thought you got this shit the other morning.”
Her mouth snaps shut and she cuts her eyes to the side. “I don’t expect you to build me a house.”
“Just because we don’t have thirteen years of history doesn’t mean my infatuation isn’t as strong. You say this is fast, I don’t agree. We’re building a life together. If you don’t want to live here, say the word and we’ll look elsewhere.”
Her gaze swings back to me, all apprehension gone. “Are you kidding? I adore this neighborhood.”
“Then I’ll go by the builder’s and pick up some plans to get started.”
Her eyes grow wide again, this time her face flushing with disapproval. “That’s not how this works. We need to make a list of desired features, so there’s an idea of where to start.”
“Three bay garage, outdoor kitchen fitted for an area with a media center, master suite with a bathroom big enough to house all your shit. Five or six-bedrooms, your choice. Done.”