Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“What?”
“You’re out of Knox’s league. Not the other way around.”
“Hey, no one is out of anyone’s league.”
“Then remember that,” she orders, grabbing my elbow and pulling me into the front of the bakery. Mr. Lovejoy turns at the sound of the door swinging open. He pays me no mind, his eyes going straight for Grams. “What do you want with my granddaughter, Abner?”
He opens his mouth and closes it.
“Well? Cat got your tongue or something?”
“I came to tell her to stay away from my son,” he finally says.
Grams bursts into laughter. I wish I could laugh along with her.
“When did you grow a set of balls?”
Mr. Lovejoy tries to speak again, but Grams keeps cutting him off. “God knows you didn’t have them when you married Georgina.”
I’m not sure what the heck is going on here, but I know this isn’t good.
“Let’s all calm down.” I try to step in. Knox’s father might be a jerk, but I’m pretty sure I’m in love with Knox, so he’s going to be in my life one way or another.
“He can’t marry her!” Mr. Lovejoy suddenly shouts. “That would make things particularly odd.” He mumbles the last part. I think it’s only meant for himself.
“Sweetheart. Like I said. You need to head on out of here.” Grams gives me a smile so sweet it scares the hell out of me and makes me worry for Mr. Lovejoy’s safety.
“Don’t kill anyone,” I whisper to Grams before I duck the hell out of there. It might be terrible of me to leave Grams to deal with it, but I don’t want to make things worse between Knox’s father and me. I can’t believe he came all the way down here to tell me to stay away from his son. I shake my head.
Since I’m out earlier than I told Knox, I head toward his shop. I’m going to have to tell him about his father. For a moment I worry over it, but then I remind myself that Knox isn’t the same person he was all those years ago.
I know the kind of control parents can have over you. I remember thinking if I made good grades and never got in trouble, when my mom came back she might see that I was a good kid and maybe she’d love me. That she would realize I wasn’t a hard kid to raise.
It was foolish in hindsight, but at that age it’s hard to understand why your mom doesn’t love you the same as other kids’ parents loved them.
It’s a short walk to Knox’s garage. The sign on the front is turned to ‘closed,’ but when I push the door, it opens. I step inside and think it’s going to be a dirty garage, but it’s not. The front area is nice with leather chairs and TVs on the wall. Off to the side is even a coffee area and baked goods I know all too well. I can’t help but smile.
Knox thinks he’s clever, but I’m putting together that he’s the one that’s been placing a bunch of orders to Grams’ bakery. It’s sweet. I follow the sound of music, wondering what the heck he’s listening to. The song is playing low and sounds seductive. I try not to judge. I do love Taylor Swift and some Britney Spears.
I don’t make it to the door to go into the garage. Glass windows give me a clear view. My stomach drops when I see Nora practically naked and laid out on the hood of some cherry red sports car. There is no missing Knox standing in front of the car. Nora’s eyes lock with mine through the window as she slips down the hood gracefully and onto her knees right in front of him. I instantly feel sick to my stomach at the sight.
Not wanting to see another second, I turn and bolt back out the front door. I pull my phone out of my purse and text Merry, telling her I need her. Like a good friend, she doesn’t ask a bunch of questions. She only responds that she’s on her way. The questions will come later.
I rush back to Knox’s house, thankful he’d given me a damn key. I told him I didn’t need it, but Knox did his pushy sweet crap, and I caved. I’ve been caving since the second he picked me up from the airport. The man has always had a way with me. It’s why I left town all those years ago. It was the only option. I always let myself fall right into him even when I knew I shouldn’t.
How did I fall for this? Hell, he might not have been going to do anything with Nora, but why was she even there? She’s been coming on to him since I came into town. This can’t be new. He should have shut it down long ago unless he enjoys the attention or something.