Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“You can’t be serious.” His incredulity was even more insulting than the fact he thought he could dictate my love life.
“I’m done with the casino, and I’m sure as fuck done with you.”
I loved my brother and put up with a lot of overprotective behavior, but this was too far. It was too much.
“I’m your brother.”
“But you apparently think that makes you king. No one runs my life but me, so fuck you and stay out of my life. See you later, Ma.”
“Come back here Kat! We’re not done with this conversation.”
I smiled with every step I took away from Jasper, refusing to respond to his words. Or his demands.
It was time to seek out Terry.
I was ready.
I used the drive over to Terry’s place to gather my thoughts and prepare what I wanted to say, but by the time my fists rapped on the door, all thoughts had fled.
“Hey,” I said when he opened the door.
Terry looked…awful. His hair was all disheveled but not in the usual sexy way, this was more of a dirty hobo look. There were red stains on his white t-shirt, probably pizza and he had a beer in his hand.
“What are you doing here?”
“I haven’t heard from you in a few days, so I came to check on you. Plus, my asshole brother said you stopped working for AO.”
He hadn’t made it clear whether Terry had quit or gotten fired, and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, especially since it looked like he wasn’t going to let me inside. “What happened?”
“What do you think happened, Katherine?” His words were sharp like daggers, every syllable slicing open my skin.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be asking, Terry.” Just because I loved him and wanted this to work, didn’t mean I would take his shit, or let him take his anger out on me.
“Is this about being let go? If so I’m happy to find a place for you.”
“So I can be at the Ashbys whim again?” He took a long swallow of his beer and said with a pop, “No thanks.”
The disdain, the anger in his voice made me wonder if he had some other underlying issue I wasn’t privy to. I winced again at his words, feeling them filet my heart wide open. “You’re not blaming me for this, are you?”
His blue gaze narrowed as he stood taller, still not inviting me in. His face reddened in anger.
“Of course, I am,” he snorted at me. “I’ve tried to keep my distance from you for years. Fucking years, Kat. And it was easy when you were strutting around all high and mighty. The bitch. Acting like you were better than everyone else.” His words were filled with anger, maybe even hate.
“I wasn’t,” I insisted, cutting off his diatribe before tears filled my eyes. “I always thought you hated me; guess I wasn’t far off.” I blinked and looked away, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he hurt me. More. Of hurting me more.
“I know that’s not who you are, Kat! You were nothing at all like you presented yourself to the world, which only made everything worse. Every fucking thing. How could I resist that smart mouth and those sexy designer clothes you prance around every damn day? You eat like a frat boy, cuss like a sailor and you do it all with the grace of goddamn princess. I didn’t stand a fucking chance.”
I swear, I swooned a little at his sweet words, his compliments, even though I was apparently the only person who was happy about it. But the more I thought about it, I wasn’t happy about this either.
“Yeah well, right back at you, Terry! You think I wanted this? Knowing that heartbreak was certain? Knowing that you would never in a million years choose me? Well I didn’t, but I couldn’t resist you. Not your smile, your laugh, your attention. Your body.” I shook my head and looked away again, threatening every tear gathering behind my eyes with certain death if they fell before I made it back to my car.
“So? Where does that leave us, Terry?”
“Where does it leave us?” His voice was thick with sarcasm. I took a step back at the anger that darkened his blue eyes.
“Just…fuck. Go back to your fucking life, Kat.”
Go back to your fucking life. It was the same as if he’d said, you’re not welcome—or wanted—here.
“So that’s it? Jasper throws a goddamn hissy fit and now that we can actually go public and be together, you tell me to go away?”
I stared at him, looking for any sign, any hint that this wasn’t what he wanted, but I could see the signs of resolve in his squared shoulders, his stick straight spine and the white line of his lips.