Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“I need an annulment,” she announced without bothering to glance in my direction.
“Over my dead body, baby,” I growled.
“Damn, how the tables have turned…” Will drawled.
I wanted to wipe the grin off his face with my fist, but I focused on my wife. “Shut the fuck up, Will,” I snarled before stomping over to Addilyn and scooping her up into my arms. “We won’t be needing your services.”
I marched out of the room with my wife wiggling and squirming in my hold. I briefly considered putting her down when she tried to punch me in the shoulder and only ended up hurting herself, but then I spotted Ariel and Aurora in the waiting room and thought better of it. Especially when Ariel smirked at me as Addilyn cried, “Put me down, you big brute!”
Aurora still looked shocked as she rushed past me, presumably to check on her husband and make sure I hadn’t done him any bodily harm. A growl rumbled up my chest when I heard her laughter ring out. “This isn’t fucking funny.”
“Maybe not to you”—Ariel rolled her eyes and shook her head as she moved to open the front door for me—“but you can’t be surprised that we’d find it freaking hilarious after all the crap you’ve pulled on us throughout the years. Not when you give us so much to work with by losing the one woman you most want to keep track of, my dear security chief brother.”
I loved my sister more than anything, but if I didn’t literally have my arms full of a squirming wife right then, I would have had a difficult time stopping myself from wringing her neck. “I don’t want to hear it, Ariel.”
“Neither did any of us when we were the ones falling in love. You can’t seriously think we’re going to take it easy on you now that the shoe’s on the other foot—”
“Hah! Falling in love,” Addilyn snorted. “You couldn’t be more wrong.”
I stopped walking to stare down at the gorgeous woman in my arms. “What the fuck does that mean?”
She huffed and gave me a cute little glare. “It means I wouldn’t be here right now, trying to fix our gigantic mistake, if we were falling in love with each other.”
Every muscle in my body locked. I refused to believe what she was implying, not with how excited she’d been when we got married. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if it turned out that I’d read the situation completely wrong and it’d been the alcohol talking the whole night. Then I shook that thought away. No. No fucking way had I been wrong about what was between us. “Don’t even try telling me you’re not falling for me, Addilyn.”
“My feelings weren’t the problem,” she whispered. Her gaze dropped to my chest, but not before I saw the pain in her pretty brown eyes. I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong to put it there, but I’d do whatever it took to wipe it away once I got her alone.
Luckily, my sister came to the same realization. “That sounds like my cue to give you two some privacy so my bonehead of a brother can fix this.” She gave me a pointed look that said I’d better figure it out or else before flashing Addilyn an encouraging smile. “I’m sorry. If I’d realized you doubted his feelings for you, I would’ve dragged his butt downstairs so he could explain why he got you to marry him the same night you met instead of suggesting you talk to Will.”
“You? Why? What?” Addilyn dropped the hand she’d been cupping against her chest and tilted her head back to look up at me with wide eyes when Ariel walked away without any further explanation.
“Give me fifteen minutes and you’ll understand.” It was more of a demand than a request, and I factored in the time it would take me to get her back to my suite. Without giving her the chance to argue, I stalked toward the closest side entrance to the Lennox. My entire focus was on getting her alone, and my determination must have been obvious to everyone who saw us because they all scattered when they saw us coming. I still had five minutes left when the door of my suite slammed shut behind me and I set Addilyn down on the couch.
“I don’t understand why you brought me back here,” she grumbled, wrapping her arms around her stomach in a protective gesture.
I hated that she felt the need to guard herself against me. Dropping on the cushion next to her, I slid my arm over her shoulders and pulled her into my side. “Because you never should’ve been anywhere else. If you hadn’t run off, we would’ve spent the past day and a half here, together, celebrating our marriage.”