Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
“I’d prefer vodka.”
He stilled. “Is this serious or not?”
“Sorry.” She drew in a shaky breath and blew it out in a rough exhale. “Joking is how I cope.” She finally drew in a deep breath. “I just need a second.”
“Take as much time as you need.” He paced, hands in his pockets, still grumbling about Soren. “Screw him and whatever that little hissy fit was about. He’s been in a mood for months. I’m fucking sick of it.”
Maybe she was the cause of his mood. Or maybe she was overthinking her significance in his life. Still, he’d never talked to her like that before.
They bickered, yes, but this was different. He wasn’t annoyed. He was angry. With her. “Did you see how he looked at me?”
“Who? Soren? I’m pretty sure this had nothing to do with you.”
He was wrong, but explaining that required too much brain power and truth. “And that woman he was with... She stared at me like I was dog shit on her designer shoes.”
“Uh, I didn’t catch any of that. Who is she?”
Jocelyn’s heart continued to hammer in her chest. “It doesn’t matter.”
This was what she wanted. She wanted to see him at this place, on his date, to make it real. She needed the jolt back to reality, but she never expected it to feel so… shattering.
Her hand rushed to her mouth as something woozy swished in her stomach. She needed to pull herself together. Out of sheer self-preservation, she hardened her heart and turned her upset to anger. “How fucking dare he?”
“I know. He acted like a total dick for no reason.”
He had a reason. But how dare he? How dare he get jealous of her while he was the one on a fucking date? The audacity!
She scoffed. This was good. Anything was better than paranoia and tears. She could use the anger. It was an excellent clarifier.
She should go key his car—
Nope. Too much. Dial it back.
“I gotta get home.” She stood, wincing when her ankle reminded her to take it slow. She limped towards home, and her stomach swooped with a horrible woozy wave every few steps.
Seeing the truth changed nothing. She’d known he’d been dating other women. She smelled them on his clothes and saw the patterns in his schedule. Seeing him date and imagining it were two different things.
Every painful step further anchored her in reality. Maybe Wren was right. Maybe there was no such thing as casual sex among friends, which was exactly why she had to cut off whatever this had become.
Their relationship—ugh, was that even the right term?
Whatever it was, it stopped being a one-night stand months ago. It was inevitably going to end, and maybe now was the time. Then she could finally move on.
Her head was spinning so fast it was making her nauseous. Visions of Wren’s nursery collided with memories of the Great Dane, the blonde kissing Soren, Soren kissing her. The last time they slept together. The time before that. The note he left on her nightstand. The way he tried to do the right thing. The way she kept pushing him out of her life, and how he kept showing back up. The way he walked away tonight. The way he put his hand on the base of his date’s spine. The way he opened her door. The way he never looked back.
And that was exactly what she needed to do. Close this chapter in her life and never look back.
CHAPTER 5
“DIRTY LITTLE SECRET”
Soren pulled up to his house just as the morning sun peeked through the surrounding trees, but there was an old jeep in his usual parking spot. “Shit.”
Climbing out of the Escalade, he gave a confused smile to his sister-in-law. “Wren, what are you doing here?”
She awkwardly pushed herself up from the porch step and stood, the bottom curve of her rounded belly poking past the hem of her yoga shirt. “You’re out early. Or is it that you’re getting home late?”
He frowned at the not-so-hidden accusation in her voice. “Uh, I didn’t know I had a curfew.”
King barked from inside, and she glanced back at the locked door. “You know, it’s not nice to leave animals unattended for too long. Especially when they’re adjusting to a new home.”
“Hold up. Did I miss something? Why do I feel like I’m in trouble?”
“I don’t know. Guilty conscience?”
He mentally retraced his steps, wondering if he had forgotten something. Her birthday wasn’t for a couple of months, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t asked him for any favors lately.
He moved to the back of his car and popped the tailgate, withdrawing his gym bag and hoisting it over his shoulder. “My conscience is clear.”
Her eyes narrowed on the bag. “Why do you have an overnight bag?”
“It’s my gym bag. I was just there with my trainer. Do you need him to write me a note?”