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)
“All right!” she snapped. “I didn’t like it.”
He grinned victoriously. “Good. Now, we’re getting somewhere.” He pulled his hand away and gave her a minute to cool off. “I’m sorry she confronted you. I don’t know why she would do that.”
“Because she wants you, Soren.”
“But I’ve done nothing to imply that we’re involved in anything more than a few casual dates.”
Jocelyn laughed without humor. “Do you think men are really the only territorial half of the species? Women can be vicious when they want to.”
“Oh, I know.”
She shot him a narrow glare, and he laughed.
“Think about it, Joce. If you can’t keep your hands off me when we’re fighting, imagine how hard it will be once we start being nice to each other.”
That was the part she dreaded most. If he was mean to her, she could keep a safe emotional distance. It was the thoughtfulness that muddled the waters.
The aspirin and the note were only the beginning. There had been little acts of kindness since, each one making it harder to keep a handle on the meaninglessness of their affair.
The day of his father’s funeral, when she caught him fighting back tears all alone in the crowded room… It was the first time she didn’t have the heart to pick on him. On the contrary, she wanted to protect him, take his pain away, and get that sad look off his face. And he let her, goddamn him, which confused things even more.
“We can’t do this, Soren. One of us will end up hurt.”
“You won’t hurt me.”
She wasn’t worried about him. He was resilient and strong. Lowering her gaze, she said, “It won’t last.”
“Us being nice to each other? No, probably not. We get off on being at each other’s throats too much. But it might be nice to take a break from all the hostility for a change.”
He reached into her lap and pried her hands apart, keeping hold of one under the table so he could rub his thumb along hers.
“Joce, all I’m asking for is a temporary truce. If that feels like too much, we can schedule weekly screaming matches and fight until we fuck.”
She laughed, despite her reluctance. When she didn’t pull her hand away, he gave her another victorious grin.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so cocky. I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“Yes, you have. I know that look. It’s the same one you make when you let me in.”
Did he really know her that well? And if he did, did he truly want her or the challenge that came with her?
He saw her as a puzzle, a plot twist in his well-ordered life, a thriller, a side quest. What he didn’t realize was that knowing her more often led to loving her less.
“I won’t change, Soren. With me, you get what you get.”
“After two decades, Joce, I think I have a pretty good idea of who you are.”
Two decades of arguing, pushing each other’s buttons, and irritating the hell out of one another.
“I won’t change.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Soren had always liked control. Even as a kid. In group projects, he had to take the lead. In sports, he was always the captain. With her, that sort of unquestioned authority didn’t fly.
His entitlement and the assumption that he was the absolute best choice for every job infuriated her. They both had oversized egos, and when they collided in even the smallest disagreement, the results were atomic.
“Tell me what you’re thinking?” He gave her hand a slight squeeze.
“I’m thinking that I know us too. I know how you get. Take my annoyance out of it. I know how you think, how you work. I know that you like to go at things head-on.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s a destructive thing.”
“Gotta break a few eggs to make a cake.”
“You’ve never baked in your life.”
“Not true.” He smiled. “My mom used to bake with us.”
She’d only met Sable Hawthorne a few times, but she’d never been more than background to Jocelyn. Someone who occasionally showed up at school to chaperone events, and once in a while at Wren’s house.
Sable and Wren’s mother, Haven, had been inseparable best friends, yet they could not have been more different. Wren’s mother was a willowy creature who communed with nature and moved like the wind, natural and in harmony with the seasons and the earth. She’d been a light in every room she entered.
Sable was a darker presence, with her ebony hair, fine clothes, and heavy jewels. The first time Jocelyn saw her, she thought she was a famous celebrity. Unlike Haven, who moved with the natural currents around her, Sable seemed to cut through tides. Crowds parted for her.
And there was a lot of her presence left in Soren.
All of the Hawthorne brothers probably had traits of their mother embedded in their souls. But Soren was the one who carried her commanding presence. People moved out of his way like the Red Sea parted for Moses, giving him an unobstructed path to take whatever he wanted without friction.