Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 162520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 813(@200wpm)___ 650(@250wpm)___ 542(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 813(@200wpm)___ 650(@250wpm)___ 542(@300wpm)
He gets off on watching my limbs necrotize.
He gets off on flaunting his wife in front of me—the woman he knows I love.
But who knew transferring forty percent ownership of a multibillion-dollar company takes longer than a few weeks. The back-and-forth and legal paperwork have been torture. Especially knowing that every day wasted is another day Hailey has to live with him.
“You’re sure?” Trent asks. “Because I’m not coming all the way over there for this to be a joke.”
I roll my eyes. “You live in the guesthouse. Just cross the lawn.”
Even owning Stonehaven, he’s refused to move there. He thinks the inconvenience of living on a rock in the middle of the sea is enough to sell it. He’s been considering offers for months.
Yesterday, Phoebe told me, “Hailey says he wants one big house with less property to manage. They’re thinking of building on the coast.”
Another reason to get this done today.
I already own all of the Koning properties. We closed on them last week. I didn’t need to buy them from Trent. He gave them to me to saddle me with mortgage debt, property taxes, and costs to maintain.
Until he finds a more permanent residence, I’m letting him live rent-free in the guesthouse. Trent knows it’s not out of the kindness of my heart.
I do it to be as close to Hailey as I can be.
Before ending the call, Trent agrees to come over.
“That him?” Rocky leans a shoulder on the doorframe to my home office, his chin dipping to my phone. His black hair is damp, like he just took a shower. He holds his favorite Seaside Griddle mug.
I’m not the only one who’s been trying to be near Hailey.
Her brothers and Phoebe moved into my house months ago so that they could keep an eye on her. Their presence here has been a saving grace, because I don’t know what would’ve happened to me had I been alone all this time. Some days I stay up through the night, watching the grounds outside from my balcony. Making sure I don’t find a platinum-blonde girl running across the yard, chasing a hallucination.
Phoebe has assured Oliver and me that Hailey is sleeping. “She says she’s focused on her health. She wants to carry the baby to term, so that’s where all her energy is going.” Thinking about Hailey sends sharp stabs through my chest, so I bring my attention back to Rocky. He’s watching me quietly.
He knows I’m thinking about his sister. I always am.
“Trent is coming over,” I confirm. “He’s going to sign the last document.”
Rocky pulls out his cell. “It will finalize the transfer?”
“Yeah.” I inhale deeply, trying to let it sink in, but it practically floats over me. It doesn’t feel real. I’m not sure when it will.
Rocky stares at me in deeper concern. “This is where you smile, Jake.”
I lift my shoulders. “Not sure I can.”
“Great. Well…” Rocky texts on his phone. “At least you finally get to see the fun part.”
My brows arch. “There’s a fun part?”
“You think we would’ve been doing this our entire lives if it was all doom and gloom, sweetheart?” He slips his phone in his pocket when a blue-haired girl fills the doorway.
“What’s doom and gloom?” Phoebe asks, and turns to Rocky. “Besides your face?”
He shoves a hand at her mouth, and she grins wildly, snapping her teeth at his palm like a turtle. Seeing their love so in my face every day hasn’t been as hard as I’d thought it’d be. I’m really happy they can be together for real. The months I pretended to be Phoebe’s boyfriend almost feel like a fever dream.
“Trent is coming over,” I warn her.
Rocky drops his hand off her face and rounds his arm over her shoulders.
Her face twists. “Ugh. Thank you for the heads-up.”
“To sign the final paper,” I add.
Her mouth parts in surprise before her eyes light up in a smile. “Oh—wait, this will be fun.”
Rocky eyes me as if to say, Told you so.
It doesn’t feel fun when I spot Trent through the window crossing the lawn with Hailey trailing him like a shadow. It was no surprise he’d bring her. She’s the equivalent of a bulletproof vest and an armed firing squad anytime he sees me.
Her hair has grown to the middle of her back. She wears a baggy black Lamb of God shirt over her cargo pants. She keeps her head down, reading a paperback as she walks. My chest tightens, and the three of us quickly leave my office.
We meet Trent and Hailey on the back patio before he has time to set foot in the house. Trent steps onto the cobblestone with an annoyed huff at the sight of Phoebe and Rocky. “You both are like a fungal infection that won’t go away.”
“What a coincidence. The feeling is mutual,” Phoebe snaps, and then smiles sharply.