Total pages in book: 198
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
Her neck had started to turn pink, and I could see her fingers shaking, but before she could collect herself, I dipped my head at her, and said what I hoped would be the last thing I ever told her.
“Goodbye, Mrs. Jones.”
And I walked out of there.
I had a low-level headache on the drive home, just this faint buzzing thing from the tension of being around the Antichrist. She had that effect on people. A small part of me still couldn’t believe the bullshit she’d tried to spill.
Decent people.
Make sure.
That was the way to win someone over.
Yeah, right.
I snorted and shook my head at least ten times, rewinding her words and then speeding through them again. I wanted to call Aunt Carolina and tell her. I wanted to call Yuki. Or Clara.
But more than all of that, I just wanted to get back to the life I knew now. The one that had built me back up from the place of indecision and confusion and fear that I had once been in. To the people who mattered.
I didn’t even realize there were a couple of tears popping out of the corners of my eyes until I sniffed back a watery nose and realized it wasn’t actually coming from there. Wiping at them with the back of my hand, I just wanted a hug.
I was done with that life. So fucking done it felt like a hundred pounds had fallen off my chest. The second I turned into the driveway, I was ready.
I didn’t know for what exactly, but for something.
For the future more than ever. For everything, maybe.
A whoosh of air left my lungs as I turned the car into Rhodes’s driveway. Determination reinforced my spine as I drove onward, ready to park, to get out, and to continue appreciating everything I had. Because of the Joneses in part. But still, always and forever, mostly thanks to my mom. I had no idea where I’d be or how I’d feel if I didn’t have this place.
But as I approached the garage apartment, I spotted Rhodes himself coming out of his house, this tight expression on his face that lasted about a second before he focused on my car. Then and only then did some of the tension ease off his features. Like relief. Was he relieved?
His flannel shirt was buttoned halfway up, his undershirt, as always, clinging to his chest. There were keys in his hand too, I realized as I parked my car in the usual spot and got out.
He was coming down the deck stairs as I circled around the front. That purple-gray gaze was on me. “You all right?” he called out, a frown coming over his mouth again.
But it didn’t stay there for long.
Because I said, “I’m great,” about a split second before I went for him the moment he was within reaching distance. Going up to the tips of my toes, I put my arms around the back of his neck, my chest plastering itself against his, and I went for it.
I pressed my lips against Rhodes’s.
His body went rock solid for all of a second before his upper body relaxed and one of his arms wrapped around the middle of my back, the other forearm settling just above my butt. Rhodes crushed me against him, tilting his head to the side, a warm kiss his reply to mine.
And it was only a freaking miracle that I didn’t try to scale him like a wall and wrap my legs around his waist because his mouth was warm, his lips firm and soft at the same time. It was sweet and gentle . . . It was everything I had ever wanted and more.
His breath washed over my mouth, eyebrows knitting together. He licked his lips, looked right into my eyes for a single moment, and then dipped for another kiss before he pulled back and focused down on me some more with his intense face. “And here I was worried you were coming back and telling me you were moving out.”
I shook my head, taking in the fine lines at his eyes, the ones across his forehead, the sharp color of his eyes, and all that incredible silver hair.
“Are you all right?” he murmured, kneading my hip with his big hand, still staring at me like if he looked away I would suddenly disappear.
“Yeah,” I answered. “I met up with my ex’s mom.”
“Am told me,” he breathed. “I was debating whether to go be your backup or let you handle it alone.”
I couldn’t help but smile at him, taking in his care and tucking it in deeply along my heart. “I’m fine,” I told him quietly. “She just riled me up, and all I wanted was to come back here.” I swallowed. “I want no part of them anymore. Not even a little bit.”