Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “No, she’s a McDavid like me.”
“Fucking hell, this just got more complicated than ever.”
“Yes, it has,” I agree as I pull off his skate. I tug so hard, I fall to my bottom, but neither of us laughs. He yanks his other skate off, discarding it before reaching for my hand to help me up. “I didn’t realize they knew the truth.”
“I’ve been working with El because of Dan.”
“Oh, we are so fucked,” I mutter.
“Big-time,” he says as our eyes meet. “What do you want to do?”
I can see the fear in his eyes. I know he thinks I’m gonna call this off. I probably should. If Elliot and Peepaw tell Lou, Austen, and Clara the truth, they’ll all try to talk me out of this. I won’t let them, though, and I fear that’ll drive a wedge between my sisters and me. They want me to be safe and happy. Doing this with Coleson will end with me being broken, and I know that. It’s a done deal, but I’m a woman of my word. I want to help him. I want the coffee shop, and there is no going back.
“Get through this without my sister hitting you again,” I tell him honestly. “Or my peepaw ruining your career.”
He eyes me. “What the hell is a peepaw?”
I give him an incredulous look. “Really? That’s what you need to know right now?”
“Yes. What the hell is that?”
“He told us to call him that, and that’s what we call him.”
“Okay, fine. But while I am fond of your ideas for coming out of this unscathed, do you have any idea how to make sure Elliot doesn’t clock me another one and Dan doesn’t ruin me?”
I sigh. “I don’t, so just stay clear of her fists and let me do the talking.”
“Great plan.”
“I thought so,” I agree as I start to walk toward where Peepaw and Elliot disappeared to. Coleson is right behind me, and when we enter the room, I grab the Kleenex box from the middle of the table to hand to him. He takes it with a quiet thanks, but I don’t acknowledge him because the pure fury from my sister and Peepaw distracts me. The tension in the room has me on edge as I stand beside Coleson, while only the table keeps Elliot and Peepaw at bay.
“End this,” Peepaw demands, and I shake my head.
“No. We made a commitment to each other.”
“You think you’re knocking up my sister?” Elliot yells, and I feel Coleson stiffen beside me.
I look at him, and he shakes his head. “I wasn’t down with the pregnancy bit, but a dog, maybe?”
I shrug. “I could do a dog.”
“What the fuck?” Peepaw seethes. “Out of all the women in the world, you chose my granddaughter?”
“I didn’t know,” Coleson stresses.
“I don’t care if you didn’t know,” Elliot snaps. “You told me you haven’t been sleeping with anyone. But you’ve not only been with my sister, you lied and told her you loved her? You don’t love anyone but your motherfucking self!”
I wince at Elliot’s words, and when I chance a glance at Coleson, I see him swallow hard. He’s trying so hard to be a better person, and his past just keeps coming for him. I can’t allow them to hate him.
“I lied,” I admitted, and all eyes fall on me. “He never said he loved me, and we haven’t even slept together. He came to me with a proposal for a year of my life in exchange for full ownership of the Drippy Drip, and I accepted.”
“What?” Elliot screeches, and Peepaw’s face turns deep purple.
“Eliza James, what in the world have you done?”
I shrug. “It’s my life. Everyone has something—Lou with the bookshop, Austen with the management position, Clara with her dog business, and Elliot, you’re the most sought-after social media director. I need to be something.”
“So you chose to be a wife to a fucking scumbag!” Elliot yells. And her words hurt.
Beside me, Coleson goes still. “She is more than my wife,” he insists, his eyes dark and his jaw tight. “The papers are being worked on as we speak to make her full owner of the coffeehouse. I will train her and make sure she is successful. I’m giving her everything I own, my business, my home—”
“All to tie herself to you, someone who cheats, fucks, and drinks his life away!” my sister yells, her eyes wild.
“I have never cheated,” he says in a low, warning tone.
“Because you haven’t had someone for more than an hour!” She throws back at him, and then she sets me with a look. “Eliza, what the hell? He isn’t good enough for you.”
“Elliot, that’s enough,” I demand. “This was my choice and mine alone. I want to help him. I believe in him, and I know we can both achieve our goals.”