Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Of course, he was jealous because that was the kind of man he’d been. He wanted what he couldn’t have. Now that Holly was officially off-limits to him, it was as if he craved her even more. My mere existence in her life pissed him off.
Good.
I didn’t want him to be comfortable at all.
“I should get the dessert,” Holly offered, pushing away from the table. “Kai, do you want to help me?” She reached her hand toward me, and I gladly took it and followed her into the kitchen.
The moment we were out of earshot of everyone else, we turned to one another and exclaimed, “I hate him!” in unison.
“I’m reconsidering laxatives in his coffee,” I said, heading to the counter to grab the dessert plates and silverware.
“I think my craziness is rubbing off on you.” She grabbed the lemon cake from the fridge. “But, I still do think that’s the best option. A shitty man deserved shitty pants.”
“That needs to be on a T-shirt.”
“We can start a T-shirt company, seeing how MJ worries about you having a backup plan.”
“What the hell are you two doing?” MJ asked, marching into the kitchen.
Holly and I turned to him, surprised by his arrival.
I cleared my throat. “Getting dessert.”
MJ turned to Holly. “He’s the guy who came to your apartment once,” he remarked. “He’s the restaurant owner.”
“I thought we made that clear during the dinner conversation,” Holly replied, moving to get past MJ.
He blocked her exit.
My whole body tensed up as I prepared to step forward if MJ crossed a line.
“Wait a minute. You two were seeing one another when you and I were a thing?” MJ whisper-shouted. Jealousy was an ugly color on him. He looked flushed out. “Are you kidding me? You took me to his restaurant. He showed up at your apartment that one night!” he repeated as if the more he said it, the more proof he’d uncover.
“So?” Holly sweetly replied. “What’s your point?”
“My point is you’re a hypocrite!”
“What do you mean?” Holly questioned. She gave him a sassy grin and placed a mockingly comforting hand on his shoulder. “We weren’t exclusive.”
The rage in MJ’s eyes built second by second. “You thought we were, though.”
“What does it matter, soon-to-be brother-in-law? We’re family now.”
He moved closer to Holly, which was when I stepped between them. “Maybe not,” I warned, my voice low and authoritative.
MJ eyed me up and down, debating whether he could take me.
He couldn’t.
But it would’ve been entertaining to see him try.
Instead, he took a step back, gave me a slight smirk, and said, “Sorry to hear about your cancer wife leaving you. That had to hurt.”
That was what he did best—found a person’s weak spot and dug the knife in deep.
He left the room, feeling triumph because he must’ve seen the shift in my composure. Holly walked over to me and placed a hand against my forearm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I lied. “I’m good.”
Two Years Ago
“What are you doing?” I asked Penelope as I walked into our apartment. My gut tightened because I knew what she was doing. Four suitcases sat in the living room, all lined up neatly. Her winter coat sat on top of the largest suitcase as the Christmas tree lights sparkled in the back corner.
“Kai. What are you doing home already?” she asked.
She said home as if it were somewhere she belonged, but the presence of the suitcases told me another story.
I took a step toward her. “Where are you going?”
“I…well, we…” Her voice cracked, and I felt it was my job to comfort her. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head. “I’m pregnant.”
My heart stopped beating as my inhalations froze. A flurry of emotions hit me, but the first one that came to mind was cancer. The last time we thought Penelope was pregnant, she was sick.
“We need to get you to the doctor,” I ordered, ignoring all the clues surrounding me that she was about to leave me. “We have to make sure you’re okay. It might be back,” I warned. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. “I’ll call your doctor and—”
Penelope walked over and placed her hand against my cell phone. “No, Kai. I’m not sick again. I’m pregnant. We’ve already been to the doctor to check everything double. I’m pregnant.”
“We?” I asked. “What do you mean we?”
Please say your mother.
Please tell me you went to get checked out with your mother.
Please, Penelope…don’t do this to me…
Tears began rolling down her cheeks, and still, I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to be her haven that she ran into when her world was upside down. She should’ve come to me when she felt overwhelmed and when she was breaking.
But, this time, it wasn’t her who was shattering into a million pieces. Her tears didn’t seem warranted. They seemed cruel.