Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I took another gulp of the beer and set the empty bottle down. “Your turn again.”
“Hang on.” Bear moved to the fridge to get me another drink.
I noticed he’d decided to join me by bringing one back to the table for himself, too. I didn’t make a comment about it, but secretly, I was happy to see him take advantage of the extra security outside to relax a little.
“Okay,” he said as he resumed his seat. “Go.”
I bit my lip, thinking. As I considered, Bear studied the bowls of dip, clearly trying to determine heat level by sight like I’d done earlier. It seemed like on his next turn he was planning to take a chance on a dip neither of us had tried before that looked to be made out of chopped-up mangoes, slivers of almonds, and mayonnaise. I nearly laughed out loud. I hoped for his sake none of those things had been combined with horseradish.
Sometimes in quiet moments like this, when Bear wasn’t doing anything particularly amazing—not growling at someone to back off, or comforting me in the middle of the night, or even kissing me senseless up against a tree, but just being his own, sweet, intelligent self—the overwhelming like I felt for him swamped me.
How freaking great was he, just as a person? How freaking lucky was I, that I got to have him in my life?
I wasn’t sure if some part of what I was feeling showed on my face, but I decided it didn’t matter. I cared about him and appreciated him, and I hoped that showed.
Which was why when he looked at me expectantly, I found myself asking something I hadn’t intended to ask. Something that was more about me and the trust I felt for him than anything else.
“If you suddenly had a billion dollars, would you tell anyone?”
TWELVE
RYAN
Bears are famously solitary most of the time, sticking to their own paths in the wild, but when they find the right match, they’ll show their interest with a kind of single-minded devotion and charm that’s hard to ignore. When a bear finally decides he wants something, he’s impossible to resist.
—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 20
I stared at him with my hand poised over the bowl of mango almond dip.
“Jesus fuck, what kind of question is that? How the hell should I know?” I sputtered. “And that doesn’t count as a deflection. I literally don’t know the answer.”
I expected to see Zane’s eyes bright with teasing, but instead, I saw a strange kind of vulnerability in them.
“I want to know,” he said. “Think about it for a minute. On the one hand, yay! You can splurge and buy half the town. On the other…”
“On the other, everybody you knew would want a piece of it,” I finished.
He nodded.
Everyone knew Zane was richer than any god. Hell, he was most likely wealthier than the royal family of Ventdestine. But because his money came from massive global fame, there would have been no way of keeping his wealth a secret. So why was he acting like it would have been a choice?
Zane looked so earnest, like he really wanted to hear my opinion on this topic, that I couldn’t help but give it serious consideration. I took a sip of beer while I thought about it.
“I don’t trust people by default,” I said carefully. “I’ve seen too much in my job, too many people trying to use others for wealth and status. So I think… if I had the choice, I’d probably try to keep it under wraps. I might do what you do and try to help people instead.”
He nodded, as if something I’d said had validated his own feelings.
“Except there’d be signs,” I added with a wink. “I wouldn’t be able to hide my Madshus Redline skis and my sudden retirement so I could enjoy them.”
The teasing returned to his eyes. “At your winter sports camp?”
“Eventually,” I agreed.
“You’d leave me just like that, Bear? All it would take is a cool bil?”
My grin dropped. I wanted to bark out a laugh at just how ridiculous that was. I would leave Zane Hendley when the last breath whistled out of my carcass and not a minute sooner. But then I realized I couldn’t even joke about the topic without wanting to hit something or being tempted to blurt out all the things I was trying to hold back.
I shoved the mango almond dip in my mouth… which was a little kicky but surprisingly tasty.
“On the same topic,” I said when it was Zane’s turn to answer again. “What would be the hardest luxury to give up if you lost it all?”
Zane didn’t hesitate. “I should say the ability to help others, but I’m too selfish. It would be my couture clothing.”
He said it with such a straight face, smoothing a hand down his front, it took me a minute to notice what he was wearing.