Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Oh?”
“Um-hmm.” I took a sip of my drink before I told him, “I took some pictures of Willa for her birthday invitations.”
“Damn. I forgot that was coming up.”
“Yeah, she’s growing fast. I can’t believe she’s almost two.”
“You’re telling me.” He shook his head. “Seems like only yesterday Hadley brought her home from the hospital.”
“I know! She was so tiny, and now, she’s about to be two.”
“Time has a way of getting away from you.”
“Yes, it does.”
“So, how was the photoshoot?”
“I think it went pretty well. I mean, at first, it was tough. Willa wasn’t in the greatest of moods and had no interest in having her picture taken.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she was not happy at all. She had that bottom lip out, pouting and stomping around.” I smiled and gave him a little nudge with my elbow as I told him, “Kind of like you the night you came over to fix my fan.”
“I wasn’t pouting.”
“Well, you certainly weren’t happy.”
“You busted the fan with a pillow.”
“I needed a way to get you over here.” I rolled my eyes, then continued with my story, “Anyway, just like you, she eventually warmed up to me, and I was able to get some amazing shots.”
“Good. I’m sure Hadley appreciated it.”
“Yeah, I think she was pleased.”
“So, you really like doing this whole photography thing?”
“I love it. I’m not all that great at doing it, but I’m learning.”
“You’ll have to show me some of your work sometime.”
“I’d love to.”
There was something about the way he was looking at me that caught me by surprise. It wasn’t like before. It wasn’t lust or intrigue. I saw a glimmer of something much deeper than that, and that was something I was beginning to think I would never see. I held his gaze for a moment, then turned my attention back to the enormous amount of food on the table. “I still can’t believe you bought all this.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t go to waste.”
I nodded, then we both went back to eating. When neither of us could take another bite, we gathered all of the remaining containers of food and placed them back into the bag. I thought he was going to put them in the fridge until he started for the door and said, “I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared out the door and returned ten minutes later empty-handed. “What did you do with all that food?”
“Took it to a couple of homeless guys who hang out a couple of blocks down.”
“That was very sweet of you.”
“Again, with the sweet.” He shook his head. “I already told ya. I’m anything but sweet.”
We walked over to the sofa and sat down as I told him, “Okay, then, it was very thoughtful.”
“Ummm…” He grimaced. “Not sure about that either.”
“You fixed my fan and my door. And you brought me dinner. That was thoughtful.”
“I think that’s a stretch.”
“Are you kidding?” I gave him a teasing shove on the shoulder. “It’s the kind of thing that romance novels are made of.”
“You’re pushing now.”
He was right. I was pushing, but the annoyed look on his face spurred me on. “Forbidden Hearts is an emotional tale of love, loyalty, and... unrequited love.”
“Oh, good grief.”
“Readers will be captivated by the profound connection between a damaged man and the beautiful, sultry woman who tempts him at every turn.”
“Sultry, huh?”
“It’s a romance book, Wrath. It’s gotta have some spice.” I clear my throat, then continue, “On one fateful night, the two lost souls stop resisting the pull they feel towards one another and discover an undeniable connection.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I saw that on the Disney channel last week.”
I sighed with frustration, then muttered, “I give up.”
“Already?” He sounded a little disappointed as he said, “You didn’t get to the spice.”
“There’s no spice on the Disney channel, Wrath.”
“Oh, well. I guess we’ll have to make some of our own.”
He slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me over to his lap, and the second his mouth landed on my neck, I knew he was going to give a whole new meaning to spice.
CHAPTER 13
Wrath
“Why do we always meet here?”
“What?”
“We’ve been talking or whatever it is we’re doing for a couple of weeks now, and you always come here. We’ve never gone out to your place.”
She was right. We hadn’t been out to my place. It wasn’t something I’d done purposefully. But then again, none of this had been done purposefully.
Just the opposite.
Every time I left her, I’d tell myself that was it—that I was done with the bullshit and I wasn’t going to see her again, but then a few days would pass and I’d suddenly find myself standing on her doorstep. I wanted to believe that it was just about the sex, but deep down, I knew it was more than that. She was starting to get to me.