Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Whatever, with all the sun I’m going to get this summer, it won’t matter. I'm halfway down the stairs when I hear my father’s voice.
Yay! I might be able to say good morning to him before he locks himself inside his office for the remainder of the day. I wonder if I can get him to go swimming with me sometime. He can't work all the time, can he? It seems unfair that grown-ups don't get summer vacation the way kids do. Maybe I need to remind him that there are other things in life besides work.
Right away, I find myself smiling since he’s not usually around. Maybe we can have breakfast together. Or if he's busy and on his way to the office down the hall, I can bring him some food. I want to spend some time together this summer before starting high school. I know I will be super busy with activities and studying once the semester begins, and I miss just sitting and talking to him. We used to be closer, but with each year passing, it feels like more space grows between us.
“I'll have keys made for you,” my father says, his voice getting louder the closer he comes to where I’m standing while the dress shoes he almost always wears during the day snap against the wood floor. “You can come and go as you please, though it would be better if you stay on the grounds as much as possible. If you need anything, let me know and I'll arrange it. It's important that you lay low for a while.”
“I understand.”
I'm at the bottom of the stairs when I hear that second voice. It's deep. I don't think I've ever heard it before. Whoever it belongs to is going to have keys to the house? A new guard? The idea makes me roll my eyes. There’s enough of them wandering around this place.
Confused, I'm still standing on the bottom step when Dad walks out of the unused east wing. His eyes widen with surprise when they land on me. “Good morning,” he says before looking over his shoulder at the man behind him.
“Good morning, Daddy. I wanted to catch you before you went into your office. Can you come swimming with me and Bianca today?”
He steps aside, and I get my first look at the man he had been talking to.
I really wish Dad would let me wear a two-piece suit. I also wish I was wearing something nicer than cutoffs right at this moment. I peer up at the man, who must be the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Even cuter than Johnny Townsend.
The mysterious guy is around Dad's height, six-two or three, with thick, black hair and dark blue eyes that scream leave me alone. They look like they could burn a hole through anything he stares at, and all I can think at that moment is how captivated I am by his presence.
Unfortunately, he doesn't stare back at me. Rather, he looks at the floor, walls, and ceiling like he's pissed at them. His full lips are pulled up into a sneer. I’ve never met anybody who looked at objects so angrily just because they exist. My gaze lingers down his body, stopping on his hands. They’re huge, and I watch as he runs one through his dark hair—which could use a cut, not to mention a wash—before he jams it into the pocket of his black jeans.
He was a dark knight if I ever saw one in real life. That’s who this man is. Rugged, dark, and mysterious. Butterflies take flight in my belly, and heat creeps up my neck and into my cheeks. I stare intently at the stranger, trying to figure out who he is and what makes him tick, but all I can seem to observe is anger.
Dad clears his throat, dragging my attention back to him. “Romero, this is my daughter, Tatum. Tatum, this is Romero. He's going to be staying with us for a while.”
“What? Not in there, I hope?” I nod toward the open doorway they just walked through. “You said I would get to move my stuff into that wing once I start high school in the fall.”
“I said maybe,” he sighs, narrowing his eyes. I know that look. It means whatever patience he had has suddenly vanished. “I know you wanted to move your stuff in there but that’s hardly the most important thing right now. Romero needs a place to stay, and rather than give him a room near yours, I think he would do better to have his own separate wing. Eventually, I might move him out to one of the cottages on the property.”
My chest aches, my heart tightening in my chest. Forget the mysterious knight, the jerk just ruined everything! Yes I know it’s just a room, and I shouldn't feel this let down over something so small but I was really looking forward to it. Another step in the direction of maturity and responsibility.