Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
He laughs. “Oh, so you thought you would fuck my sister until you grew tired of her, so you never have to come clean with me. Was that your plan, E?”
“No, of course not. It’s not like that with Mia.”
“You’re just another girl to him,” Will says to Mia. “Ethan doesn’t date. He fucks. This won’t end well for you, baby sis. I won’t be around every morning to bring you breakfast or rock you back to sleep when you need someone to mend your broken heart. And he definitely won’t be there for you.”
Will’s acting like an asshole, but he’s a good brother. I would do the same if Mia were my sister.
“He won’t break my heart,” Mia says. “Not again, not after last time.”
“Mia, open your eyes. Do you see him fighting for you? No. He hasn’t said more than two words. This relationship is one-sided. I know you well enough to know that you’re in love with Ethan.”
Mia pushes her hand to her hips. “You know nothing about our relationship, Will.”
“Am I wrong? Are you… not in love with him? I can see it in your eyes when you look at him. You’ve looked at him this way for years.”
“Yes!” Mia throws her hands in the air. “Yes, I’m in love with him. I’ve loved Ethan since I was in high school. What’s wrong with that?”
Bile rises from the back of my throat. Mia loves me. A small part of me had always known that, but hearing the words aloud makes this real.
She loves me.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Will says, his tone softening.
“Sleep on it, okay?” Mia squeezes his bicep. “Maybe spend some time apart from Ethan. Give it some time to process this before you throw Ethan out of your apartment. You guys are teammates, roommates, and best friends. Hear him out. Don’t dismiss him. If not for Ethan, then do it for me.”
Will sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. “Fine. For you.” He levels me with his hardened gaze. “Meet me at Ollie’s tonight. I need to get out of here before I smash your fucking face in.”
“I would deserve it,” I admit.
“Yeah, you would, asshole.”
Will kisses Mia on the top of her head. “I probably won’t stay here tonight. Don’t wait up for me.”
She forces a smile. Then, he removes his keys from his pocket, slamming the door behind as he exits the apartment.
So that just happened. Will caught me in bed with Ethan and naked, of all things. Fuck. I don’t even realize I’m biting my nails until Ethan comes up from behind me and wraps his arms around me. The warmth from his body instantly soothes me.
“I’m sorry, Mia.” He whispers the words against the shell of my ear. “I should’ve manned up and told him sooner.”
I look up at him, blinking a tear from my eye. “We made the decision together. At least Will knows now.”
“I would’ve preferred to have the conversation with our clothes on. If I had a sister, I probably would’ve beat the shit out of Will for having sex with her. He has every right to be mad. I thought we would fight and get it over with, but the fact he left worries me.”
“He didn’t mean what he said. He’d never throw you out of the apartment.”
Ethan laughs. “I’d like to see him try. I own half of it.”
“Ugh,” I grunt. “This feels like a bad divorce. My brother will forgive you. I know he will. Just give him some time. He’s like my dad. Once he blows off some steam, he’ll get over it and come to his senses.”
“I’m not so sure about that. In all the years I’ve known Will, I’ve never seen him this mad.”
“Will needs you just as much as you need him. Trust me. You’re as much his blood as I am. He considers you his brother.”
“I guess that makes this even more fucked-up then, sis.” He laughs.
I shake my head and chuckle. “Call me that again, and I’ll kick you in the balls.”
“Hey, if you ever want kids, I would advise against it.”
I stop laughing and still in his arms. “You want kids?”
“Sure. Someday.”
“With me? You said if I ever want kids.”
He squeezes me tighter. “I guess I did.”
“Do you mean that?”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean. You should know that by now.”
I spin around to face him. “What’s changed?”
He shrugs. “Nothing. I’ve loved you since high school. Loving you is easy. I just wasn’t in love with you back then.”
I raise a curious eyebrow at him. “But you are now?”
A short pause passes between us.
“Yes. I don’t know why I froze when Will asked me.” Ethan tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear and smiles. “I’ve never been in love before. Until you, my life was nothing but parties and women. And hockey. Will’s right, though. I’ve done a lot of fucked-up shit over the years. I don’t deserve you.”