Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“Who knows,” I say, curling up against him again. “Just say that I kept you busy. Point made.”
“You kept me very busy.” He chuckles into the top of my head. “I didn’t know I had that much stamina. You must admit, I was impressive.”
“That you were. All five times. You were so impressive, in fact, that whenever you’re ready to go again, just let me know.”
His chest shakes as he chuckles again. “I need a nap and a snack first. Unless you want to put my cock in your mouth. I’m sure you can convince it to go another round.”
His hand snakes around my side and grabs my boob.
“I was kidding,” I say, grinning. “I need a nap, a snack, and a cold compress, I think.”
Muted rays of sunlight flicker into the room. The trees are illuminated from behind, creating a painting-worthy picture in the distance. The world slowly awakens, greeting us with the coziest, warmest good morning.
I yawn, wiggling around until I’m comfortable. I can’t help but notice the ink on the top part of his arm. Each thin line is crisp, marrying different shapes into one beautiful, intricate design. Tattoos aren’t something I would’ve thought Luke would do. Yet, somehow, it’s perfect.
“Tell me about these,” I say, tracing lines in his skin.
“What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. What made you get them? What do they mean? Or are they random stuff you plucked off an artist’s wall?”
He takes a deep breath. “They all mean something.”
The faint catch in his voice makes me pause. There’s a chance he doesn’t want to share this with me. After all, I haven’t been in his life for a long time. Maybe some of these are to mark special events in his life that don’t involve me.
As true as it is, my heart still squeezes tight. I’m not mad—that would be ridiculous. I’m not hurt because I was engaged to another man, for heaven’s sake. But my heart hurts for the years we didn’t share—for all the time we spent apart, for the pain we caused—and for the wounds we didn’t help each other heal.
For the life we lived without one another.
“I think most guys get tattoos of really cool shit,” he says, running his fingers through my hair. “Mine are pretty dorky.”
I smile against him. “I definitely want to know now.”
He holds his arm so we both can see it better.
“You better not make fun of me,” he says.
“No promises.”
He rolls his eyes. “The outside line is a horseshoe. That should be self-explanatory. And there’s a p wrapped around the top of it for Poppy.”
I find the letter and press my fingertip against it.
“Inside the horseshoe are things that remind me of all the important people in my life,” he says, clearing his throat. “There’s a daisy for my mom. She’s always growing something in her garden. Flowers or those damn roses that make me bleed when she cons me into coming over and pruning them for her.”
I chuckle softly.
“There’s a flag for my dad to honor his time in the military,” he says, rotating his shoulder. There are boxing gloves for Mallet, a little crown for Kate.” He laughs. “I had something else picked out for her, but she went with me to get this done and convinced the tattoo artist to substitute her thing out with a crown because she’s a princess.”
“She did not.”
“Oh, she did. What she can get away with is amazing when she flutters her lashes at men. I don’t get it.” He sighs. “There’s a baseball for Chase because he taught me how to throw a ball. Sometimes, I think he used it as an excuse to hit me and not get into trouble, but whatever.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Yes, he would.” He shakes his head, pointing at a square. “That didn’t come out great, but it’s supposed to be a Lego to represent Gavin. We spent so many hours playing with Lego when we were kids.”
I turn his arm to see the far side more clearly. “What is the last one? I can’t see it from here.”
“That one is a pumpkin.”
My eyes widen as I try to sit up. He holds me against him, burying his face in my hair. I grip his arm and pull it to me until I can see the final item.
Yup. It’s a pumpkin.
His voice from Thanksgiving, our first year together, echoes through my head. “I’m just going to start calling you pumpkin since you like it so much.”
“Luke …”
He nods, his heart pounding. Each beat taps the side of my face at the same tempo as my heart races in my chest.
I turn his arm back and forth to see if I missed any. Is that it? Just his family and … me?
“Needless to say, I didn’t expect you’d ever see that,” he says, exhaling.