Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
“I’ll show them.” Monty turns to them. “When you’re ready, we can start training together.”
“Where?” Leo heads toward the hallway that leads to the garage, den, and gym.
“That way.” Monty directs him with a flick of his finger.
The air changes as we enter the exercise room, charged with something different. Curiosity. Fascination. Awe.
Leo and Kody sweep their gazes over the sleek, modern equipment, whose purposes are a mystery to them.
Monty steps in, turning on his charming host demeanor. “This is the treadmill.” He gestures at the machine. “It simulates walking or running. You can adjust the speed here.” He powers on the digital panel.
“Why would anyone run on this,” Leo asks, “when there are running trails on the island?”
Monty chuckles, his too-familiar eyes imprisoning me.
“Exactly.” I cross my arms and lean against the wall of mirrors. “I’ve never used that thing.”
Moving on to the rack of weights, Monty lifts a dumbbell and hands it to Kody. “This is the best way to build strength and endurance.”
Kody thrusts it over his head like it weighs nothing. “Feels lighter than the logs we lifted back home.”
“There are different sizes for different exercises.” Monty offers him a heavier one.
Eyes widening, Kody grunts as he lifts it. “Fuck.” He sets it back on the rack and grabs another. And another.
Monty tests his strength, too, while showing him some curling techniques.
“Great. Maybe I should leave you alone to bond with your new best friends.” I can’t help but smile at their boyish competitiveness. “They seem pretty heavy.”
Leo circles the punching bag, grinning and bouncing on his toes.
“This is where it’s at.” He throws a few experimental punches, the bag swinging wildly.
Monty nods, watching him. “Use any of this whenever you like. It’s here to help you guys get back in shape.”
Kody puts the weights away and steps onto the large mat where I used to spend hours doing Pilates and yoga.
He exchanges a look with Leo, and I know they’re thinking about self-defense training.
“We’ll start this week.” Leo strides toward me, his steps lighter, clearly impressed with the gym. “That includes you, love.”
“I prefer the running trails in the fresh air.” I follow him into the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.
“And the rain?”
“Maybe not the rain.”
Upstairs, he gives all the guest bedrooms the same thorough search. Kody joins him, speeding things along.
“What are they looking for?” Monty lingers in the hall, his hands resting casually in his pockets.
“If you were in their positions…” I lean against the doorframe. “What would you look for?”
His eyebrows climb together, his jaw working. “Sedatives, rope, latex gloves, weapons, incriminating photos, recording devices, basically anything that might point to me as a stalker.”
“If you have any of those things in your possession, I know you’re too smart to leave them where they can be discovered. But they don’t know you. They need to do this so they can sleep tonight.”
“Fair enough.”
Leo ambles out of the final guest bedroom and pushes open another door, revealing Monty’s dimly lit study.
Pausing on the threshold, he sniffs the air like a tracker, his tall, rugged frame contrasting sharply with the delicate antiques and gleaming surfaces of Monty’s world.
It feels unnerving, watching the wild men I’ve come to love prowling the halls of my previous life. A life so meticulously curated by Monty.
“Go ahead.” Monty follows at a safe distance, his hands clasped behind his back. But his voice lacks warmth. “My home is open to you.”
Leo stops before a seascape painting by Ivan Aivazovsky, his head tilted. He has no idea he’s admiring a piece of art worth millions. Nor does he care.
I catch the reflection of our group in the gilded mirror beside Monty’s desk—so out of place yet so irrevocably entwined. My past and present are colliding in the heart of this grand estate, under the watchful eyes of a man I once vowed to love forever.
As evening shadows creep through the windows, I wonder how we can weave these fragmented parts into a new whole.
Will my history with Monty prevent him from building a relationship with Kody and Leo? Does he intend to hurt me worse than he already has?
His eyes flicker away before meeting mine again, a dance of avoidance, necessity, and something else.
“It’s like a museum here.” Kody bends to peer closer at a glass cabinet filled with Fabergé eggs. “How did you ever live in a place like this?”
“It was another life.” I meet Monty’s cool gaze. “One that no longer appeals to the woman I am now.”
I’m not trying to be cruel. It’s the hard truth, and Monty needs to understand.
We’re finished.
Rather than backing down, he stares right back, his lips quirking at the corners.
Goddammit, I know that wry, challenging smirk. It’s the same one he wore when I repeatedly turned down his advances during his year-long pursuit to date me.