Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I fucking love the way she pushes back against me, as if she can’t get enough, and I reach around to circle her clit with my finger, making her start to lose it again.
“That’s it, baby. Let go.”
She buries her face in a pillow and cries out, pushing against me as I grip her hips and come with her, unable to hold back any longer.
This time, after we clean up and collapse back onto the bed, we fall asleep almost immediately.
Abbi’s still asleep as I creep into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and find my phone in last night’s trousers. It’s not quite seven, but that means that it’s nine on the East Coast, and I need to make a call.
The same call that I make every year, on the morning of New Year’s Day.
After pouring a cup of the brew, I sit on the couch and press dial. Two rings later, she answers.
“Happy New Year, Brady.”
“Hey, Amy. Happy New Year. Were you guys up too late last night like the rest of the world?”
“No,” she says with a laugh. “I slept through the ball dropping. Sierra spent the night with some friends. How are things in Montana?”
I glance out the window and see that we got about six new inches of snow last night.
“It’s white,” I tell her with a grin. “And cold. And how about North Carolina?”
“No snow here, and the ocean looks pretty calm right now.” After her husband passed, Amy moved herself and Sierra back to her hometown in North Carolina. “Brady, I have some news that I need to share with you, and I don’t want you to be upset.”
I narrow my eyes, still watching the snow. “Okay. What’s up?”
“I’m getting married. I got engaged on Christmas Day.”
Well, that hits like a punch to the gut, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Amy is young and beautiful, and she shouldn’t be alone forever.
“Congratulations.”
She’s quiet for a moment.
“Who’s the lucky guy?” I ask, trying to lighten the tension that’s suddenly between us.
“His name is Hugh. He’s a real estate agent here in town, and I met him through friends. He’s a good man, Brady. You and Dirks would have liked him. He thinks the world of Sierra, and she loves him, too.”
“Good.” I clear my throat, nodding even though she can’t see me. “That’s good, Amy. Dirks would want this for both of you.”
She sniffles on the other end. “I know, but that doesn’t make me feel like I’m betraying him any less. Even though my therapist has told me over and over again that I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“You’re not,” I agree gently. “Honey, he’s been gone for more than six years. We’ll always miss him, but you can’t stay where you were six years ago. You can’t live in that grief for the rest of your life. You deserve so much better than that.”
“Shit, I should have paid you instead of a therapist.”
I laugh at that and wish that I could give her a hug. “I hope I get an invitation.”
“Duh. Actually, you know my daddy passed away a few years ago, and I don’t have any brothers. Brady, would you walk me down the aisle?”
Well, hell. I didn’t have getting choked up on my Bingo card for today, but here we are.
“Of course. You name the time and place, and I’ll be there. I’m honored you asked me. Plus, it’s time I saw my goddaughter. Two years have gone by fast.”
“She’ll love it.” Now she has a smile in her voice. “And, you know, if you have a date to bring…”
I chuckle and glance down the hall toward the bedroom. “Actually, I just might.”
“Brady Wild, you’re holding out on me!”
“Hey, you got engaged a week ago, and I’m just now finding out about it.”
“Okay, that’s fair. Tell me about her. Send me pictures.”
I spend ten minutes filling Amy in, and when I’m done, she sighs, obviously envisioning a Hallmark romance in her head.
“And now, you’re snowed in at your tiny cabin, wasting time with an old friend when she’s in your bed, pining for you.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s quite accurate, but okay. Anyway, I’m having a few bad moments of my own over here. I have no business starting something with her.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m not retired.” I blow out a breath. “Although, this will be my last season. But you know how I feel about starting a relationship with someone, Amy. I won’t do to Abbi what happened to you and Sierra.”
“Good. Don’t do that. Zero out of ten stars, do not recommend. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start a relationship with her. Weren’t you the one just lecturing me on not living in my grief?”
“Number one, it wasn’t a lecture. Number two, it’s not the same thing at all, and you know it.”