Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
So she’d written her letter to Declan and Trick. She’d told them everything. Everything she’d learned from her mother, everything she’d been thinking. She poured all her concerns onto the pages until she felt drained. She’d finished by admitting that she was in love with both of them, and if they wanted to talk, she would pick up the phone.
They hadn’t called.
Jen opened her bedroom door and pulled the towel off her head, drying her hair. When she saw her phone blinking on the nightstand, she went over to swipe her finger on the screen and nearly dropped it when she saw a text from Trick.
She opened it and gasped. He’d sent back the picture of her lace underwear. The one she’d taken when she was trying to entice him over to her apartment. Beneath, he’d typed a message.
If you still want to talk, come to the backyard.
Her blood started racing through her veins in a way it hadn’t in days. Her hands were shaking with adrenaline as she looked around her room, expecting to see him. Nothing.
If she still wanted to talk? She closed her eyes and felt the heaviness that had been weighing down her heart start to lift. It wasn’t too late. She hadn’t lost them, not completely. They were still willing to talk.
She tightened the belt on her robe and nearly slid down the stairs with her phone in her hand. The backyard was surrounded by an eight-foot wall, it’s only entrance a secure steel door with an alarm. For a state senator, Stephen was a rock star, and he and Tasha received a lot of attention, which is why police cruised the block up to three times a night.
Trick might have been able to bypass her cheap apartment alarm, but that?
He’s tricky, Tasha had said.
He sent the text. They had to be here.
Opening the kitchen door that led to the patio, Jen held her robe closed and peered outside. It was too dark to see anyone. She looked down at her phone, ready to text them when she saw Declan step into the light, adjusting his glasses before slipping his hands in his pockets.
He looked tired. “You’re here.”
Declan studied her wet hair and white bathrobe with hungry, storm-gray eyes. “Yes.” A small smile teased his lips. “Trick wanted to break into your room and relive old times, but I’m not a very good criminal and this is too important for games.”
She came outside, shutting the kitchen door and leaning against the house. “I agree. Is he with you?”
Trick appeared from the shadows beside Declan. “Of course I’m here. Who do you think got our professor through the door?”
“You broke into Stephen’s backyard?”
“I would have. But his beautiful wife texted me the code instead.” Trick came closer and lifted his hand to her cheek, using his thumb to wipe the tears she didn’t realize she’d started crying. “Don’t break my heart, Jen. Don’t cry.”
“I’m sorry,” she said to both of them as Declan joined them on the patio. “For the email…all of this. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just…I didn’t know what else to do.”
“No one did,” Declan admitted, reaching for her hand and tangling his fingers through hers as if he had to touch her. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, not when other people were involved.”
“We didn’t know about your mother.” Trick shook his head. “I still can’t believe that.”
“Solomon knew.” Jen’s lips parted in surprise at Declan’s words.
“He did?”
“For years, apparently. He only told Seamus after your mother had him warn me away. Your brother is still a little rattled.”
She knew. Seamus hadn’t made it to the last family dinner. Everyone noticed. They also noticed that Jen was still avoiding her mother and that Shawn Finn was quieter than usual. Sol, of course, was a no show.
“No one tried to warn me away.”
“You were pretty bruised up at the time, Trick.”
Trick smiled tenderly when she reached up to touch the faded bruise on his cheek. “Or they knew I’d kick their ass and chose to be talked to death instead.”
“We all have our strengths.” He pulled Jen into his arms. “I lost mine the day you sent that email. When I didn’t see you in class and you weren’t at your apartment, I nearly lost my mind. Don’t you know how we feel about you?”
She hoped she did. “Why did you wait?”
It wasn’t fair for her to ask, not after she’d broken things off, but if they’d gone through what she had in the last few days, she wasn’t sure why they hadn’t called.
Trick cupped her hip, both of them surrounding her, making her feel safe. “You said a lot of things in that letter. Maybe more than you realized. I thought we needed to take a breath, a step back and see if we could have answers for you when we showed up at the senator’s door.”