Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
We burst into my bedroom and I place her right down on the bed. Despite the cheer and good nature between us, I can’t help but second-guess everything I’m doing. She was right when she suggested that if I wasn’t attracted to her, things would be different. I want to say I’d be as helpful, if not quite so forward, but her being so gorgeous definitely helped defuse what could have been a tense situation.
I’m leaning over her on the bed, stealing a brief kiss from her, and staring into her eyes. “Tell me, Merit. What do you really want?”
“You, Mac.”
“No, no. Not that. I’ve gathered that you want me and I want you. But I want to know what you want in the long term.”
She lets out a long breath as she stares at the ceiling. “Do you mean as a career?”
“Just what you want in general. Like, do you want a family? Or are you itching to burst out of your shell and be a wild woman? You could have a new guy every night if you wanted, all of them worshiping your beauty.”
More laughter. “Would you judge me if I said yes?”
“Not particularly. We’ve established you’re a free woman, Merit. You can do anything and anyone you want. It’s just that you’ve apparently chosen me for your first.”
She considers my question and answers with a smile. “Despite my upbringing, I’m not opposed to the traditional one man, one woman family thing. There’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe it’s all the romance novels I read when I had the chance, but it seems so sweet to be in such a loving relationship and family. It’s something I do want, but here I am, running away from the people who also wanted that for me.”
I lie down beside her, propping my head in my hands. “Makes sense to me. You just want to have a choice in the matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“It sounds like those assholes were going to force your hand. Make you do things you didn’t want to do, Merit. Marry you off to someone you didn’t love, and treat you like a slave, not a woman. Not a partner. Not an equal.”
“Yeah...” She takes another moment. “At least now I have a choice. I can choose a man who will treat me right. And I can walk away if he doesn’t. And I can guarantee that my children will have the same freedom.”
I chuckle. “You’re already thinking about kids?”
She nods. “I remember the sweetness that my family used to have before they got brainwashed. I want that back. I want to be a mom, the one I should have had. One that wants my children to be the best version of themselves. To choose what they want out of life. If they want to be stay-at-home parents? They can be. If they want to be professional wrestlers? Sure. They want to try and hit it big on Wall Street? I’ll be behind them all the way, loving them no matter what they do.”
I can’t help but think of Prairie and her situation. It’s not the same, but it’s not wholly different either. “You don’t have to settle, you know.”
“Settle? What do you mean?”
“Like, I get it. You’ve been kept from the world for the past ten years. You’re horribly behind on proper schooling, and college if you want to go. But you can still do those things. You’re young. You can catch up on all that and still be any of that yourself, not just a stay-at-home mom.”
“What are you talking about, Mac? If I become that, it won’t be because I’m settling. It’s something I’d be very happy with... as long as it’s with the right man,” she says, punctuating it with a wink my way. “I’d only be settling in the sense that if I were to have kids sometime soon, I’d be settling down a bit earlier than most. And I’d choose to do that. I’d be happy with that.”
She’s firm in her convictions. Fuck, I like that too. She’s the exact kind of woman a Rough boy like myself needs.
“What about you, Mac? I told you my hopes and dreams. What about you?”
“Hmm,” I stroke my chin. “Never been overly ambitious career-wise. Working with my father is pretty fulfilling on that front. I’m doing something important. I’m building homes. I bring home more than enough to take care of a family. Was never a rat race type who wanted more for the sake of more.”
“I meant when it comes to family, although it’s good to see you’re happy with your lot in life.”
I look her way, stroking her hair. “Us Roughs were brought up watching our parents put love and family in front of everything. That principle is reinforced every time we see them. My parents are going gray, but the intensity of their love for one another has never faded. My earliest memory is of them kissing.”