Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“That’s very self-help-y.”
“Did I mention that I did lots of online therapy when I first got adopted?”
“Yes. Yes, you did.”
“I swear, I’ve never actually said any of this or even thought about it until I met you, but I guess maybe some of that stuff stuck,” I told her.
“Or maybe you’re just really wise. Maybe I need lots of help, and it brings out the best in you.”
“Stop.”
“Am I making it worse? That big hole that you’re sitting in?” she sniped.
I cross my arms. “Alright.” I’m admitting defeat. I’ve done and said all I can. If Granny was here, I’m not sure she could have even done better. She probably would have brought a pie or some cookies as a peace offering, but I did sushi, and I thought that was pretty darn good. I then opened up my heart and soul, and whether it sounded like a self-help novel or not, I really meant it. I. Really. Meant. It. “Alright, that’s the best I have. It was all true, though. Here’s the short notes version. I’m glad we met, I’m sorry about Vegas, I’m glad we met again, and I’m not sorry I kissed you. You’re a total badass, and it’s awesome, and I wish you’d be a part of our family, with or without us being a couple or whatever that means, though I do wish it’d be with us being a couple or whatever that means. See bullet point above. I’m not sorry I kissed you. It was nice. But I also want you to be happy. So, if you’d truly rather be here, then I’ll accept that and leave you alone. You have Granny’s number if you ever need us. I just want you to know that either way, you’re not alone. Everyone has struggles and hurts. We’re all human. There are people out there who are just like you, even if you don’t think there are.” I look over at the printer and the cool, slick white pages sitting there with the tiny black letters all over them. “If you really want me to go, I’ll sign the papers. But either way, ham is still awesome.”
She blinks. Her eyes slowly track to my face, and she blinks again. I swear her eyes are darker and a little bit brighter. Maybe even slightly shiny. “Ham is still awesome,” she whispers hoarsely.
I’m not an expert, but I think that means kiss me now. Or maybe it means if you try and kiss me now, I’ll knee you in the balls. I’m taking a chance, but I think it’s the former.
I never thought I’d kiss someone like they have a chance to be my world, but right now, I’d seriously like to kiss Echo that way. Not because I want to make a point about what could be, but because I just really want to kiss her, period.
It takes me three steps to reach her, and nope, I haven’t changed my mind. I go for it. Thank goodness that instead of my balls biting the dust, I read the signs right. Echo throws her arms around my neck, slams her body against me, and kisses me like we’re not complicated. She kisses me like we’re not married, yet we’re not strangers. Like we’ve done this a thousand times before, but it’s like the first time. Like there aren’t a thousand things to work out, a thousand what-ifs, and a thousand more doubts for each of those, and it’s like she’s just a woman, I’m just a man, and this is just right.
End of story.
Plus, ham?
CHAPTER 14
Echo
Shit, I’m doing this. Just like in the treehouse, I’m doing it. I know I should stop, but I can’t. Maybe it’s more like I don’t want to. What? I’m a grown woman. I can admit it. I can admit that I want to lick Orion from head to toe and that I’d like to taste his lips for the rest of the night. I’d maybe even like to bite him a little. His lips, his throat. Maybe nibble on his nipples, taste his abs, and taste him lower. And lower. And lower.
Oh my word. Of all words, times flamingoes, I need to stop.
No, don’t stop. Don’t ever freaking stop.
“Why did you really come here?” I pant against his lips. “Was it for this?”
“It was, but I was willing to accept that it might not happen. Just now, I thought you might be asking me to kiss you, or you might not be asking me to kiss you, and you’d try to bag me in the balls if I gave it a shot. It was a risk I was willing to take.”
It might not be sexy to smile and laugh against someone else’s lips, but I’m doing both, and I can’t bring myself to pull away. “I wasn’t running away,” I whisper, pain stabbing at my insides from every angle. “I thought I was making the right choice, not taking the easy way out.” For some reason, it’s important to me that he knows that. It’s important to me that I tell myself that.