Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
She understood.
“Oh, well, the cruise ends soon. We’re heading back as we speak, so we should land either before you or after. I’m not sure on the details.”
The cruise they were on was more of a tester to see if people would be able to stay on the ocean for any length of time. There were longer ones that took months to travel the whole world. She didn’t know how her mother would handle that, but from the sound of it, she’d love to be as far away from Daemon as possible.
“Can I ask you one question before we hang up?” Petal asked.
“Shoot.”
“Are you falling for him?”
Rosalie snorted. “What?”
“No, hear me out. I have heard you not talk about Colt, to then do nothing but curse and hate on him, to then talk about him as if he wasn’t a bad guy, and that is more than fine. It’s totally fine, Rosalie. There’s no harm in liking the guy, he is your husband, but I have to wonder, are you falling for him? Truly falling for him?”
“No, I’m not. Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not, we’re still, you know, we’re just, er…” Her words were getting all messed up and she didn’t quite know what to say, and then none of it made any sense to her.
“Please don’t stress, but you might want to think about what that means. I love you,” Petal said.
“Love you too,” Rosalie said.
The call ended and she put the phone on the ground beside her. She stared down at the water of the pool and released a sigh.
No, she didn’t love Colt. Love took time. It took understanding and patience. All she felt for Colt was … nothing. They didn’t have a relationship. They were married and had been thrown together because of their parents. They hated each other. Only, for Rosalie, the hatred didn’t feel quite as strong anymore.
“How’s Petal?” Colt asked, coming to sit beside her. He shoved her phone away from the pool and took the seat beside her, sitting close.
“She’s doing okay. I don’t think cruising is the way for her. She wants to get home. Does your mom have a problem with Dirty hanging out with my friend?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Rosalie rubbed at her temple.
“I know my mom, she’s making sure everything is going by without a hitch. You don’t want your friend to come back pregnant, do you?”
She turned to look at him. “You didn’t put Dirty up to this, did you?”
“What? No. I didn’t. Dirty is there because he liked the idea of a vacation. I figured he went there for the single women, to be honest with you.”
She stared at him, not quite sure if she believed him, but also knowing she couldn’t dispute it either.
“I’m sorry to hear Petal isn’t having a great time.”
“It’s fine. We did plan to go on a cruise together. It was part of our many plans when we got older.”
“Ah, do I get to hear these plans of yours?”
“Some of them were stupid. We were going to lose our virginity together. That didn’t happen. We were going to buy a car, but I wouldn’t take anything from my dad, so that didn’t happen. I tend to help Petal fix hers when she needs it. The cruise is one. Get married at the same time, leave town. Find jobs that we both love. Raise a family together. You know, stupid stuff that you come up with when you’re kids that don’t actually happen, because it’s impossible to do it.” She shrugged.
Colt wrapped his arm around her waist. “We can’t help her achieve her goals, but we can certainly keep her with us, as we share ours. You never know on the family front, and she can be part of the club. I think between you and my mom, she is already part of the club.”
Rosalie chuckled, staring into his eyes. It was moments like these. Subtle, where he wasn’t trying to be an asshole, and he certainly wasn’t trying to be nice, but it just came naturally to him. It was impossible for her to fight it.
“I feel like a swim,” she said, pulling away from him as she slid into the water. The dress she wore was soaked and she quickly pulled it over her head and tossed it onto the ledge, then stepped back into the water.
“Now, why do you need to swim?” he asked.
“I feel like it.”
“Are you telling me, Rosalie, that I’m making you a little hot and bothered?”
She smiled and waved her hands against the water. “I’m not saying any such thing. All I’m doing is going for a swim.” She had put her swimsuit on underneath the dress.
The truth was, she needed to cool down, or at the very least, calm down. Falling for Colt would be a giant mistake. She wasn’t ready to make those kind of fuck-ups. Not yet. Not when she knew deep in her heart that her feelings couldn’t be love. It just couldn’t be. Love was lasting. It didn’t just spring up on a person.