Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
His single word was a promise and her bones nearly melted. She hugged the frame he’d given her to her chest. For too long, she’d lived in fear. Afraid of falling. Afraid of loss and heartache. She had denied her heart what it craved most: to love and be loved. Meaning yes, she had absolutely cursed herself.
Tears welled in her eyes, and okay, yes, a few droplets even streamed down her cheeks. But no more. From now on, she rejected fear. In fact, a new year kicked off soon. Jane would be making some changes. Big ones. Want different results, do something different.
Conrad cupped her jawline and brushed away her tears with his thumbs. “I’m glad we’re back together.”
A lump grew in her throat, but she swallowed it back. “Me, too. I missed you even though you were living in my home.”
His lopsided smile made an appearance. “You did?”
“I really, really did.”
“By the way, this is my favorite Christmas.” He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head. She slid her palms up his chest and rose to her tiptoes. Their lips met in the middle for a sweet kiss.
“Just wait till the next one,” she said. Despite her determination to fight fear, a blip of it surged to the surface. If she lost him before then…
No. No! He was all in. And so was she.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised her. “You mean everything to me, and I plan to prove it to you.”
Okay, yes. She chose to believe him rather than the fear; Conrad wasn’t a liar. The fear just might be. “Conrad,” she began. “I–” What? What did she wish to tell him? Words poised at the end of her tongue, but her mind couldn’t yet decipher them. In the end, she just fisted his shirt while tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks.
“I know,” he said, wiping away the droplets and covering her mouth with his own.
EPILOGUE
I, Rolex the Great and Mighty, Sultan of Fang and Fury, stalk a slow circle around the intruder as he attempts to steal my servant queen’s breath. This, after he made those awful water droplets seep from her eyes! This man and his infernal mutt have caused us nothing but trouble for too long.
Forget my plans for the day. There will be no napping. No snacking or destroying the annoyingly bright feathers growing from my favorite ball. No coughing up an irritating hairball on Miss Jane’s bed or shattering a vase that has taunted me with its shine for weeks, just begging to take a tumble to the floor.
The time has come to make the interloper regret his birth. I will use him as a scratching post. Slap his ridiculous face until his brain rattles against his skull, and hiss until he curls into a little ball and sobs for mercy he shall not receive. He won’t walk away from me—he’ll crawl.
I must—gah! The long bodied orange and white slobber goblin dared to touch his paw to my newest ball of yarn. My vengeance must be swift!
Cattain Rolex, signing out to take care of business.
Ready for Conrad Ryan’s side of the story? Look for:
Conrad: Falling For the Gravekeeper
March 27, 2023