Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“I’m proud of you, too.”
“Thank you.” She reaches for a slice of pizza and takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “So, the holding it in didn’t last long.”
I can’t help but laugh at that, and Millie narrows her eyes at me, so I stop, clear my throat, and hide my smile behind my wine glass.
“Sorry. Go on.”
“Well, they were talking shit about my town. Calling us all country bumpkins and how we’re too stupid to figure out how to hike in the snow. It was disrespectful as fuck.”
“Yeah, that’s not cool at all.”
“So, I turned around on my stool and proceeded to let them know that if they didn’t like it here, they could just go on home. We wouldn’t miss them. Maybe they’d learn to actually research their vacations in the future.”
“And they didn’t like that.”
“No. They didn’t.” She takes a deep breath, then reaches for another slice of pizza. “And I didn’t care. I ended up standing nose-to-nose with the leader of their little gang, and then he pushed me.”
My eyes come up, wide. “He pushed you?”
“Yeah, and he had his fist reared back to punch me in the face, but then he was suddenly punched in the face, and several guys kicked all four of them out of the bar.”
“Good, what a bunch of assholes.”
“But that’s not all.” She shakes her head and then stands and begins to pace my apartment once more. “No, it gets much worse.”
“They were waiting for you outside, and you had to kick all of their asses?”
“I wish. That would have been better.” She finishes the last of her crust and then turns to me. “The person who just had to jump to my rescue was freaking Holden Lexington.”
“Who’s that?” I frown up at her, trying to search my mind for that name, but I don’t know it.
“He’s the oldest child and only son in the fucking Lexington family. You’ve heard the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys?”
“I guess. Rival families, right? Somewhere back east?”
“Yeah, they hated each other. It’s the same here, but it’s the Wilds and the Lexingtons here. Our families have fought for generations.”
“Why?”
She waves her hands in the air and begins to pace faster. “Because we have property next to each other, and there’s always something to fight about. Our two families pretty much originally settled Bitterroot Valley. Holden’s about Remington’s age, and they’ve always hated each other. In fact, all of us siblings hate each other.”
“That’s a lot of hate,” I comment and then frown. “Wait, so, there are five of you Wild siblings? How many siblings are in the Lexington family?”
“Five,” she says with a sniff. “But where we’re four boys and a girl, they’re one boy and four girls.”
“So fascinating,” I murmur, sitting back on the couch. “And I gather that it was bad that Holden came to your defense?”
“Yes.” Her voice is getting more and more shrill with frustration. “Of course, it’s bad. I don’t want Holden to jump in and try to save me. Do I look like I can’t hold my own against some stupid tourists?”
“No, you could handle it, but he pushed you.”
“And he was about to get a kick to the gonads, I’ll tell you that. But I didn’t get to do that because Holden decided to be the goddamn hero. Figures.”
She shakes her head in disgust.
“And then he, like, tried to smile and placate me, and just because we slept together once does not mean that I want him to do that.”
“Whoa.” I hold up a hand. “You slept with him?”
“Once,” she spits out. “One time. Because Holden is fucking beautiful in every way. It’s just so unfair that he’s so hot because that can go nowhere. Our families hate each other, remember? Remington would kill Holden if he ever found out that Holden had his hands on me.”
“But, was it fun? The handsy sexy time?”
Millie blows out a breath and scrubs her hands over her face. “Hell yeah. It was damn good sex. But it cannot happen again, and it won’t happen again, even if Holden thinks he can defend me against tourists. Although, it was kind of hot when he punched that guy.”
“I bet. I wish I’d been there to witness it.”
Millie narrows her eyes. “I’m not going to think about Holden and his hotness anymore. He’s not sexy. He’s annoying.”
“Sure, you just keep telling yourself that.”
She looks at me now, and it seems the worst of her anger has worn itself down.
“You look like shit,” she decides. “Did something happen to you? Oh, my God, I’m a horrible friend because I just had diarrhea of the mouth this whole time, and you have issues of your own that I haven’t even listened to.”
“I’m okay,” I reply, shaking my head. “I’m just really tired. It was a long day. And then I talked to my sister, and she was telling me about some stuff that’s happened back home, and I’m missing it. I don’t want to go back to Seattle; I just hate that I’m missing out on some fun stuff with her and my cousins. She said that I wouldn’t miss as much if I’d just get on social media, but that’s not a good idea.”