Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Maddie got to her feet and left.
Aria sighed.
Lidia had asked if she would ever forgive Grant. She wanted to.
Reaching for her cell phone, it wasn’t there. She frowned and got to her feet. She checked her pockets and then quickly left the bedroom, going to the bathroom. Knocking on the door, no one called out that they were in there, so checking through the laundry basket, she tried to find her cell phone. It wasn’t there either. Where did she have it last? She made her way downstairs and went to the kitchen. There was no sign of her cell phone.
“You okay, Aria?” Pat asked.
“Yeah, I was looking for my cell phone.”
“I haven’t seen it. I think Grant might have taken it.”
“Grant?”
“Yeah, and look, he just pulled up.”
Aria looked toward the window and saw Grant turning off his bike. She stepped out of the kitchen door and headed in his direction. Grant turned toward her and he stopped. Aria stopped. They hadn’t spoken in over a week.
“Aria,” Grant said.
“Grant.”
“What’s up?”
“Pat said that you, er, that you have my phone.”
He chuckled. “Leave it to Pat to tattle.”
“Do you have my phone?” Aria asked.
He reached into his pocket and she saw his knuckles were bleeding. “Are you okay?” Aria asked. Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t care. Grant had lied to her. He had put her in this position. And yet, she couldn’t help but be concerned seeing the state of his hands.
“It’s nothing.”
“Grant, that’s not nothing. You’re hurt.”
“Sean sent you those videos.” He held out the cell phone for her to take. “The guy’s a piece of shit. I used to go to school with his brother. Sean likes control, and he wanted to remove all of Lidia’s friends and family, but you wouldn’t leave, so you ruined his plans.”
“Seriously?” Aria asked.
“He won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“You beat him up?”
“I taught him a lesson in respect. Also, I called his brother,” Grant said. “They’re coming to deal with him. It would seem he’s been causing the family a lot of worries.”
Aria nodded. She should have known it came from Sean.
“Aria, I know I messed up.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to do this now.”
Grant nodded. “Fine. I can wait.”
“All my life, I’ve been told I was never good enough, that my sister was the one who—”
“Stop it,” Grant said.
“You had sex with her.”
“And I don’t remember it. Aria, I never claimed to be a saint before I met you. I was a piece of shit and I still am a piece of shit. I messed up but that night with your sister didn’t mean anything. It was before I met you, before I felt this way. She was easy.”
Aria shook her head. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what? Tell me what I can do to make this right. I’ll do anything.”
She stared at him and the tears filled her eyes once again. “You didn’t trust me.”
“What?”
“You didn’t believe that I could handle it.”
“Can you?” Grant asked. “You found out and look what’s happened to us? You can’t even look me in the eye!”
“Because I was hurt!” She screamed at him. “How would you feel if it turned out that I had sex with Bull, but then I hid it from you?”
“I know that’s not possible,” Grant said.
“Ugh! Why are you being a giant pain in the ass? Of course I’ve never had sex with Bull. I’m asking you to take a chance at feeling what I’m feeling.” She shook her head.
Ernie and Bruno came out of the kitchen. Pat had opened the door. Wanda also. Her dogs had been staying with her, but she knew they missed Wanda, who went to stay with her best friend, Grant.
“I know what you’re saying,” Grant said. “I just don’t like it.”
“And you expect me to?” Aria asked. “You didn’t have enough faith in me or in us, where does that leave us?”
“I made a mistake.”
She shook her head. “We have moved way too fast, Grant. We need to stop.”
“No,” Grant said.
“Yeah, I think we do.”
Grant closed the distance between them, cupping her face, tilting her head back, and then he slammed his lips down on hers. “No, we don’t need to slow down. We don’t need to stop. I fucked up, Aria. I know that. I will never do anything like that again. You want to know every single woman I’ve fucked? I’ll point them out. I’ll tell you.”
“I don’t want to know every single woman,” Aria said.
“I love you,” Grant said. “I love you more than anything else in the world. I don’t need you to change. I don’t need you to be different. I love you for who you are.” He pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks. “And I’m not going to stop. This isn’t over.”
He took possession of her lips and Aria couldn’t fight him. She didn’t want to fight him.