Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Holden.” He tightens his grip on my hand. “I’m okay.”
He’s glowering, but he kisses me once more and then reluctantly lets me go.
“I’d like to follow that idiot and punch him senseless.”
This man is way more intense than he was when I knew him. A little broodier. He’s obviously seen a lot more life, and I don’t think it’s all been kind to him.
Not that I care.
Because I don’t.
He’s an ass.
But my hand tingles where his lips were. Stupid tingles.
It’s not my fault that my body betrays me at every turn. Holden is a sexy man. Those are just the facts. He turns heads. He has a body that could have been sculpted from marble, a chiseled jawline, and blue eyes so intense they’ll steal the breath from your lungs at twenty paces.
The sexiness is hard to miss.
But my body needs to calm itself down because we’re not going there. No touching. No sexy time. Absolutely none of the above. Because if I give in to those things, there’s no way that I’ll be able to move on and shake Holden off when all of this is over.
“Again with the thinking too hard,” he says next to me, sounding remarkably calm. “Are you ready to have me pull over so you can get out and run away?”
“Oh, I was at that point the minute I got in the truck.” I nod slowly. “And have considered that idea at every mile marker since.”
He glances at me, raising an eyebrow. Jesus, why does he have to be so sexy?
“But these boots aren’t really made for hitchhiking, and it’s cold outside, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”
“Cute.”
“Are your sisters pissed off?” I ask him. “Did they try to talk you out of this?”
“Why would they be pissed?”
“Because it’s me, Holden. Because my last name happens to be Wild.”
“Only for another hour or so,” he reminds me, and my heart stops.
Oh, shit.
“I didn’t tell them that it’s you. They know I’m eloping today, but I didn’t say with whom.”
“And they didn’t ask?”
He spares me another quick glance. “Of course, they asked. I just didn’t tell them. Why? Did your family get as pissed as I think they did? Are we coming home to a firing squad?”
I’m still mildly irked that he didn’t tell his sisters about me, but then I sigh.
“I didn’t tell them.”
“Looks like we’re even, then, aren’t we?”
We’re quiet while we enter into the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, driving around the edge of the lake and into downtown. I’ve always thought this was a cute town. It’s so green, and the lake is beautiful.
Maybe someday, I’ll come stay at their big resort and have a relaxing weekend or something.
I snort out loud and then rub my finger under my nose.
“What was that thought?” Holden asks me.
“I was just thinking that this is a cute town, and I’ve always wanted to stay at the resort on the lake, and maybe I would sometime, but then I remembered that I don’t take vacations because I run a business.”
“Even business owners take vacations.”
“Really? When was the last time you took one?”
He narrows his eyes. “When Bridger got married, a bunch of us went to Vegas.”
My stomach drops at that. I remember Bridger telling me about that trip, and how some of the guys got stupid and ended up hooking up with a group of girls they met in the casino. He never said explicitly who hooked up, but just the thought of it being Holden makes me want to put my elbow through the window. I hate that I get jealous when it comes to him. He didn’t want me. He cast me aside, so why should I care if he fucks his way through all of Vegas?
I don’t know, but I do.
And that’s stupid.
“I think it’s right up here,” he says, pointing to a building. Sure enough, it says Courthouse out front.
Holden pulls into a parking lot and eases the truck to a stop, cuts the engine, and unclips his seat belt, then turns to me.
“Millie, if you don’t want to do this, I won’t make you. I will turn around and go home right now. No hard feelings.”
I scoff. “No hard feelings?”
“I’m not kidding. I understand what I’m asking you to do, and it’s not like I’m just borrowing a cup of sugar or something here. So you tell me if this is not what you want.”
This is not what I want.
But I made a promise. And for all the stupid, fucked-up reasons floating around in my head, I think I can make it through this with my sanity intact.
“Let’s do this.” I unclip my belt, grab my purse, and push out of the truck, walking quickly through the rain to the door. Holden holds it open for me, and we walk inside and find the counter marked Marriage Licenses.