Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
“He’s only seventeen?” That’s a bit surprising. He was there the day everything went down. I thought he was more my age, which I found out today is twenty.
“Yeah, we grow them big around here. Well, the men,” Pink teases. Clearly. She’s tiny. We’re about the same height, I’d guess, but I’m curvier. Kane and Ben are about the same size. Kane might be an inch taller, but Ben is built broader.
“With how close you two seem, I would have guessed you’ve been friends longer,” I say.
“When you click, you click.” Ollie smiles. There is something about her that’s purely genuine. I can see how it would be easy to be friends with her. “You have to meet Vee!”
“Oh shit. You haven’t met her yet. Arch is the VP of the Ravens. They just got married, and she’s pregnant too,” Pink says.
“Y’all have been friends for years, right? Ben has mentioned her. Said she’s like a little sister to him.”
“Yep, you should come to the club Friday and we’ll all hang out. Vee is a sweetheart. I actually think you two are a bit alike.”
“That’s sweet of you to say. I’ll talk to Ben about it.”
“Don’t make us kidnap you. Cause we’ll do it.” Pink deadpans.
“Dude! She was just kidnapped. Too soon.” Ollie shoots a rubber band at her.
“Oh shit.” Pink’s eyes go wide. “I can’t believe I said that.” I can’t help but laugh, and they quickly join me. “I’m sorry. That was messed up.” Tears roll down my cheeks. I'm laughing so hard now. “I’m sorry,” she says again when we all get it together. I shrug.
“I don’t remember it, so you saying it doesn’t trigger me. It’s the darkness and being trapped that gets me. That’s what all my nightmares are about. Waking up and thinking I’m stuck. Unable to move and everything is black.”
“That’s so fucking scary. I’m sorry you went through that,” Ollie says.
“It led me to Ben.” As soon as I say the words, I kind of wish I could take them back. They probably think I’m nuts. But when I meet their eyes, they don’t give me a look that says I’m crazy.
“Don’t break his heart,” Ollie says, surprising me. “I always wondered if the reason my brothers didn’t date or I never heard about them dating was because they might be jaded over our mother.”
“She passed, right?” Sometimes at the hospital, Ben would tell me stories to help pass the time. It’s why I knew about Vee.
Ben talks about his family a lot, but when he never brought up his mom and said his father recently fell in love, I asked. All he said was she passed away not long after Ollie was born.
“She did, after she went out for milk and never came home.”
“I’m sorry.” Ollie waves it off.
“I didn’t know her, so there was nothing for me to miss. I was a bit of a surprise to my parents. My brothers were a lot older. I think she thought she was almost done with the whole kids thing and being married, and BAM I snuck up on her, and she was not down to do it again.”
“I don’t think I could ever understand walking away from your child. I was told I was left at a fire station when I was only a few months old.”
“Are you remembering stuff?” Pink asks.
“Some things. Obviously, I don’t remember being left at a fire station, but I remember some of the foster homes. Like I can picture them in my mind.”
“That’s good.” Ollie gives me a warm smile. I nod, but I’m not sure how I feel about remembering things.
“So to be clear, there is something going on between you and Ben?” Pink asks. “I mean, I know you two have been connected at the hip.”
“Of course, there is. You see the way he’s been staring at her.”
“Yeah, but Ben and I aren't that close. He’s always traveling and stuff. I just know he’s the more chill of the Hart brothers. He doesn’t have a stick that needs to be removed.” They both start laughing again, but my thoughts lock in on what Pink said about Ben always traveling.
I know he owns Hart Bonds, and said something about investing in properties with his brother. He did also mention something about doing freelance work for the government. My anxiety starts to climb thinking about Ben leaving to go somewhere far away.
“How do you girls get anything done?” Kane teases, coming out of his office.
“You worry about your job, and I’ll worry about mine, big guy.” Pink glares at him teasingly.
“I’m stealing my girl.” Ben grabs my hand, pulling me back toward his office.
“Hey, we were having girl talk!” the girls call after us, but Ben ignores them, shutting and locking his office door.
“Everything—” My words are cut off when he kisses me. He doesn't stop until we’re both gasping for air. The thought of Ben going anywhere has gone from my mind. The same way things always seem to go away when his mouth meets mine.