Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 7
Riggs
I have a toothache from how fucking sweet Clara looks.
She was the reason I came over. I saw her first, the moment I walked into the café. Not Alex, not Elliot, and definitely not Gavin. It was her. All her. My eyes immediately set on her, in all pink, her lips glossed to perfection, her hair half up and half down in curls that frame her stunning face. She has on a little pink tennis dress that should be illegal with how it hugs her breasts, shows her toned shoulders, and I’m sure if she stood, her ass would barely be covered. She’s also wearing white socks with high-top pink Converse.
She reminds me of bubble gum that I want nothing more than to savor and then swallow completely.
Fuck me.
I readjust my cock that’s more a steel pipe than anything as I lean on the table, trying my hardest not to notice her, look at her, or fall to my knees before her. I’ve never wanted that. I’m used to women falling for me, but I’d break my knees for a taste of her. To feel her flesh under my mouth, my fingers, and around my cock. The thought has me grimacing as I shake my head. She’s too young and probably doesn’t know a thing about the deviant things I dream of. Peppa used to tell me all the time that I wanted things she wasn’t down for. Sex by itself was good, but it was never satisfying enough for me. Or her, I guess, since she went elsewhere for it.
Great, now I’m thinking of my shitty marriage.
I exhale, and while I don’t want to be in their conversation, I can’t help but listen to Gavin. He’s a good kid, smart, and funny. But surely he knows Clara is out of his league. Seeing them together had my heart racing and my fists clenching. Jealousy so strong eats me alive as I listen to him try to flirt with her. I don’t want Clara near him, and I sure as hell don’t want him looking at her the way I want to. I chance a glance toward them, and my gaze falls on her. She looks so uncomfortable and not her usual sunshine self. She leans on her hand as Gavin tells her about his family in Florida. Her eyes aren’t as shiny as they were when I first got here, and I wonder if it’s because of me.
“How about you?”
She sits up then, almost as if she wasn’t really listening until now. “Well, I have my peepaw, Dan Davenport, and then my sisters. I’m the youngest of five. Louisa and Austen are in Nashville, Eliza is back and forth between here and Nashville because her husband, Coleson, is rehabbing his leg, and then Elliot is here with me.” She throws a loving look at her sister. “Though, with how well Alex is doing, I’m sure they’ll be off to a different team before I know it.”
Elliot flashes a sad smile as Alex wraps his arms tighter around her. “No matter the distance…”
“…we’ll always be with one another,” Clara finishes with a small sigh, and my heart clenches at the words they share before looking at each other with such overwhelming love. There is raw protectiveness in Elliot’s gaze for her baby sister, while Clara looks at her like she hung the moon and stars above. It’s a beautiful sight to see, and I’m in awe of their bond.
Or rather, I’m in awe of Clara.
Her eyes shine like a sky full of stars, and I want to get lost in them. Forming constellations and memorizing everything about her. Her gaze moves to me, and when her eyes widen, I have to look away. It is wrong how much I want her. If I didn’t need her to watch my boys, and she weren’t my boss’s granddaughter, I’d lose myself in her. A smart man would fire her, but I’m proving to be a damn fool. I can do no such thing. Even if I can’t have her, I want to watch her from afar. But can I watch her be with another man?
While the answer is flashing like a damn electronic billboard, I ignore it.
Well, I ignore it as best I can.
Thankfully, our food is brought out then, and soon, we’re all digging in. It’s Gavin who speaks first. “Do you think you’ll stay here in Blitz?”
I look up then and find that she has taken a huge bit of her lemon shrimp pasta, the same thing I got. Unable to keep the words at bay, I answer, “I assume so, when she has a very successful business here.”
“Yeah, she wouldn’t leave what she’s built here,” Elliot adds. “Coach, she’s going to keep your pups while you’re gone, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. Hopefully she doesn’t spoil them too much.”