Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
The lights of the arena flash and blink brightly, the crowd roaring and the music pumping. It’s the polar opposite of the cabin, where soft music flowed from the record player as I danced with the woman whose body fit perfectly against mine, her cheek on my shoulder and her breath on my neck.
Impossible as it seems, or the next three hours, I have to focus on hockey.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Trinity
“Are you sure you want to be here?”
My coworker and friend, Genevieve, gives me a concerned look as she sips her coffee from the chair on the other side of my desk. Which is also kind of her desk because she was moved into my job a couple of months ago, but Gloria is letting us share the job for now.
“I have three months’ worth of catching up to do. And I can’t get a moment of peace at my apartment, anyway.”
There are a handful of reporters and photographers who have made it their mission to take photos of me and shout questions at me every time I go in and out of my apartment. I’m grateful for Gideon and Brielle, the bodyguards who switch off escorting me everywhere. Linc hired them because of Ronan, but I need them to fend off not just the reporters but also people I pass on the street who recognize me and take photos.
The story of our rescue is everywhere. I have a new phone, but I keep it set to silent and only use it for phone calls and texts because social media is overwhelming in every possible way right now.
“You need to come stay with me,” Genevieve says for at least the fifth time.
“Then they’ll just wait for me outside of your door.”
“They’ll have to go through me first.”
“I missed you.” I set down the latte she brought me a few minutes ago. “And I’m sorry, but I can’t drink this. I’m not used to this much sugar anymore.”
She waves a hand. “No worries, I’ll ask you what you want next time.”
It’s my second day back at the office. After two days in the hospital in Seattle, my mom drove me home and stayed with me for three days. She cooked my favorite foods—pasta carbonara, steak and even a chocolate cheesecake—and we binge-watched shows from my couch.
I haven’t gotten to see Karma yet because he’s back at my mom’s staying with one of her friends. But the time alone with my mom was better than any time I’ve ever spent with her. She didn’t fuss over my apartment and I wasn’t petty toward her. It seems like we both know now that life’s too short for any of that.
“I can’t believe these numbers,” I tell Genevieve as I look over the sales figures for Allura’s first two full months of sales. “They’re above and beyond anything I anticipated.”
“You had all the pieces in place.”
I laugh off her compliment. “No, this was a team effort. I had myself convinced the launch couldn’t be successful if...well, if a hundred different things. But you guys did an amazing job.”
“I’m not keeping the job,” she blurts. “This is your job and I don’t want you to think I just swooped in and took it. I cried every day of my first week in this office.”
I smile and meet her gaze. “I’d never think that. The show must go on.”
“Well, it’s your job and your office. There are openings on Patrick’s team; he already said I can have a spot if I want it.”
“Let’s not talk about that yet.”
“Okay, but can we talk about you being trapped in a cabin with a hot hockey player? Was there only one bed?”
My cheeks warm and she squeals with excitement. “I knew it! Tell me everything.”
The two of us have always shared all the details of our lives with each other, but for some reason, I feel protective of every moment I’ve spent with Lincoln. It wasn’t salacious or even about sex. We needed each other.
And now it’s over. I think about him constantly, especially when I’m lying in bed alone at night. I’d trade the bed in my heated bedroom to be back in the cabin’s bed with him in a heartbeat. I miss the feel of his strong arms around me, the wind whipping against the cabin’s walls. The sound of him groaning when he’s about to come. The feel of his chiseled chest behind my back in the bathtub, his hands roaming over my bare skin.
How could I possibly put all of that into words Genevieve would understand? I don’t even understand it myself—I just feel it, deep inside.
“Later,” I tell her. “I seriously have so much work to catch up on.”
“Gloria doesn’t expect you to catch up on three months’ worth of work in a matter of days, you know. Be gentle with yourself.”