Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
If only she knew. “Things are better now. He’s married with another on the way.”
“And the mother?”
“She bailed,” I said. “Which is just as well, because she hated being a mom.”
She ate her dinner, sliding a piece of bread through the sauce. “I’m guessing this man is your one friend?”
“Yes.”
“So, you guys still talk?”
“We were estranged for years,” I said. “Until he asked me to help find his daughter.”
“And did you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s a good thing he had you to help.”
I didn’t tell her I was the reason she was taken in the first place. She didn’t need to know what kind of monster I was, not for a superficial relationship like this. “I’ve been looking for his replacement for a long time, but there’s no one I trust.”
“That sounds lonely.”
I gave a shrug. “That leaves a bigger cut for me.”
“What’s another million when you already have a billion?”
I knew she came from money, so she’d turned her back on luxury for a life of mediocrity. She was one of the few people who could actually put her money where her mouth was. “If you missed me, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Who said I missed you?”
“You said you hadn’t heard from me in a while. That means you were keeping track of my absence.”
“I was just making conversation.”
My eyes homed in on her face. “Don’t bullshit me.”
She went still at my callousness.
“You only seem to like me when we’re fucking. The second we’re done, you’re back to your judgmental stares and icy comments. Be real with me, the way we are in bed, or this is over.” I wouldn’t be with a woman with two sides. I wouldn’t be with a woman who made me feel good when we fucked then made me feel like shit after. “I understand you don’t approve of my profession, but forcing yourself to hate me won’t make you feel better in the end. You made a choice—now deal with it.”
She stopped eating altogether, my words getting deep under her skin. “I know you’re busy…and I don’t want to bother you.” There was no apology, and there would never be an apology. She was far too stubborn for that. But this was good enough—the way she caved because she didn’t want to lose me.
She didn’t hate me at all. She hated that she didn’t hate me. “I may be busy, but you could never bother me.”
Silence passed, heavy like a cloud of smoke. It hung in the middle of the table between us. We both breathed it in, inhaling toxic fumes that ripped apart our insides. When it became too much, she picked up her fork and began to eat again.
I did the same. “When was your last serious relationship?”
“Why do you assume I ever had one?”
“Because, look at you.” Dark hair. Sexy hips perfect for bearing children. Intelligent eyes. If I were a different kind of guy, I’d want her for myself.
“I said we don’t have to do pillow talk.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re shutting me out.”
“Just because we’re fucking doesn’t mean you’re entitled to more of me.”
“There’s no chance I’ll hurt you, so what’s the harm?”
She grabbed the stem of her glass and pulled it close. “This is a two-way street, Bartholomew. If you expect me to answer your questions, you have to answer mine.”
“I have no issue with that.”
Her eyes looked disappointed, like she’d hoped that would be enough to deter me. “My last serious relationship was seven years ago.”
Quite the coincidence. “That’s a long time to be single.”
“I’ve become disillusioned by love…”
“Did he cheat?” I knew that wasn’t it, because what kind of man would fuck around on a woman like this?
“No.” She didn’t supply an answer, so I knew I wouldn’t get one.
“How long was the relationship?”
“Two years.”
“I’m happy with this arrangement, but you shouldn’t let an asshole from seven years ago sabotage your love life.”
She gave a small smile and took a drink.
Now I’d give anything to know what happened. “I could kill him for you—if you want.”
She took her drink and set the glass aside. “My ex-husband isn’t worth our time.”
There was a sudden tightness in my core. It gripped me right in the center of my chest so it was hard to breathe. I kept a stoic expression, but inside, I was struggling with the surprise. “You’re divorced.”
“Happily divorced.” She finished her glass of wine then licked her lips.
“That’s awfully young to be married.” She would have had to have been in her very early twenties.
“You can thank my father for that.”
An arranged marriage.
It was like she could see my thoughts right on my face. “Told you he was an asshole.”
9
LAURA
I didn’t hear from Bartholomew for days.
We never had back-to-back nights. He left me so sore that an instant replay would probably just hurt. We both filled up our tanks until they were topped off, and then we lived our lives until we started to approach empty.