Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
My jaw tics. I fucking hated seeing those pictures. “It was my personal hell,” I tell her.
“I just don’t understand what you thought you’d find. I get that you thought I was hiding something, but what would following me accomplish?”
“I had a PI on Titus. I thought maybe I’d find him with another young girl or … I don’t know. Something. But then I saw you in some pictures when you were out to dinner as a family and I just…” I exhale, completely aware that this is making me sound like a creep.
“You just what?”
“I told myself I was having you followed because I wanted to find out what you were hiding, but I just wanted more of you. Even if it meant seeing you with that asshole. Those one-night stands I had were nameless. Faceless. I never looked at any of them again. But you? You, I couldn’t stop—can’t stop—looking at or thinking about or wanting.”
“God, Finn,” she whispers. “I hate it when you say stuff like that.”
I bark out a laugh that I’m sure startles some of the guys in front of me. “What? The truth?” We’re both quiet for a long time before I say, “Look, we’re adults. We each have a past. It’s probably good that you’ve dated those idiots, so you can see they’re nothing compared to me.”
She makes a psh sound. “You’re so arrogant.”
“So you’ve said.”
“Hey, Finn,” she says quietly.
I shut my eyes and take a breath. I love it when she says that to me in that soothing tone. “Yeah.”
“I miss you. A lot.”
My breath gets caught in my throat. “I miss you too, baby. So fucking much.”
“Good.”
My lip twitches. “So, you’re not leaving me?”
“I’m not leaving you.”
All of my annoyance melts away at once. She’s not going to leave me over this. I shut my eyes and take a breath, wishing I could reach through the phone and lift her into my arms. When I feel the bus come to a stop, I say my goodbyes and promise I’ll call her when I get to the hotel in Toronto. I’ve never missed a game, but the way I’m feeling right now, I wish I could take a flight home instead.
It certainly gives me a new appreciation for my friends with families. They go home to be with their wives for the birth of their children and come right back to keep playing, as if their lives hadn’t forever been altered. That’s exactly what Josslyn is—life-altering—and there’s no way in hell I’m ever letting her go.
50
JOSSLYN
Ididn’t tell Finn that I’m meeting Leo at the coffee shop. I haven’t told him about Leo at all. I don’t know that there will be anything to tell him, and I don’t want to distract him from his games. I asked Olivia to accompany me, though, and she’s sitting at a separate table doing homework while I sit with Leo. So far, I’ve got nothing. He was on a call when I got here, and he’s still on it five minutes later. I sip my coffee and look outside to watch the people walking by during their lunch breaks.
“I’m sorry about that,” Leo says, as he hangs up and puts his phone in the inside pocket of his jacket. “You look different today.”
I laugh. “Yeah.”
Different is an understatement. We’re going to basketball practice in a few hours, so I’m wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts, and my hair is up in a ponytail. A far cry from the Josslyn he’s seen at Onyx and Pearl.
“You look younger like this.” His eyes are warm as he looks at me. After a moment, he reaches into his briefcase and sets some papers on the table. He locks eyes with me again. “No one knows I’m doing this. Johnny would have me killed if he finds out, so I trust you won’t say a word.”
“I won’t,” I say. “And I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me.”
He gives a nod and slides the papers over. “This is the guest list for the club and for our group that night. The list is long, but only the ones with check marks beside their names were there. The rest reserved a spot and most likely didn’t show up.”
My heart is going a mile a minute as I pore over the list. It’s pretty long. People had reservations from six o’clock in the afternoon until four in the morning. I’m trying to focus on the check-marked names, wishing this list was in alphabetical order when I freeze on one. Titus Fletcher. Knowing he was there is one thing, but what gets me is seeing that he's on this list at all. My heart stops for a moment.
“If someone just showed up, would they be on this list?”
“If they were granted entry, yes.”