Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
"He's dead," Ro says with a flat tone.
"Ope, that makes things easy." I snort a laugh. Lily puts her hand over her mouth to avoid laughing. Killian's expression is passive, but Ro's brows have lifted, which is saying a lot because he's got a really good poker face. "Wait, he's really dead?" I turn my gaze back to Killian, who gives a slight shrug.
"They said he was on a hike and tumbled down a mountain. It took a few days to find him."
"They found him?" Killian asks.
"It seems so."
"Well, Killian paid for the full service of murder and making the man disappear. You need to get a refund," I tease. "This is why you have to do things yourself."
"Oh, I will." The room falls quiet.
"I don't know if we're all joking or if this is serious." I was joking, but I don't believe that my soon-to-be husband is joking.
"I never take anything seriously." I wave it off with my hand dismissively.
"Whatever rids us of him," Ro finally says with a smile before changing the subject.
"Come," I say, grabbing Lily's hand when we're done eating and leading her out to the stone patio that overlooks the pool, the sun setting over the mountains. Lily is off. When it comes to Tristan, he keeps her pissed off. I can see the weight of all of this settling on her shoulders. "I'm not going to ask if you're okay." We both already know the answer.
"How can I already miss him and that stupid fucking penthouse when all I wanted was to get away from him?"
"Because you didn't want to get away from him." I bump my shoulder with hers.
"Okay, how can I be so infatuated with him? He's an asshole. A cold and rigid one." Lily rolls her eyes.
"I mean, I'm in love with Killian, and he's kinda murdery."
"Yeah, but he's a marshmallow for you. He would have tossed me from the roof of the building without a second thought to get you back," Lily says with a whimsical smile.
"So you want a murderous love too." I wiggle my brows playfully at her.
"I don't know what I want anymore." She lets out a long sigh. Lily rests her head on my shoulder, and we stand there together and simply watch the sunset. I hate seeing Lily this way, but Tristan forced our hand. I'm hoping he's going to fix it without blowing up my house in the process, but we can always rebuild.
“You don’t have to know what you want right now.”
Lily nods, glancing away. “I don’t know which is worse: if he comes for me or if he doesn’t.”
If he doesn’t. I know that, and I’m pretty sure she does too, but we’re not going to say it out loud.
We both glance down when Minnie wiggles her head between us. When Lily reaches down to pet her, Minnie doesn’t stop her. I’m convinced that Minnie goes off vibes, and she sees a girl that could use a cat right now.
I peek over my shoulder realizing Killian is watching me. I give him a wink.
"Want to see your room?" I ask.
"Yeah, I need sleep."
"Okay, but don't kill me."
"Oh God, what did you do?"
"I only wanted you to feel settled here is all." I want her to love this place so much that she either decides to stay here or wants to spend a lot of time here, knowing there is a space just for her. We knew she wasn't leaving with much of anything, so I made sure Lily had all the things she loves and uses already here.
"Teddy," Lily gasps when we enter. "This is bigger than most New York apartments." She starts to explore. "Wait," she says as she notices a couple of candles and some lotions. She continues to pick up some small things around the room before going into the bathroom. "Teddy." I get a pointed look when she comes back out.
"What?" I feign innocence. Lily hasn't seen all of it yet.
"Why did you glance over there?" I glance again over to the closet doors. I'm not very good at this sneaky business. I hate keeping secrets. Especially when they are surprises. I never used to last when it came to Grams. I would always spill before she could actually be surprised.
"Just the closet." I downplay it. "These pillows are—" Lily cuts me off from changing the subject, heading straight for the closet.
"Oh my God!" Lily gasps, coming back out.
"That is nothing compared to your own closet!" I point out. Lily stares at me for a second, and then her face goes soft.
"Thank you, and I'm not going to fight you on it. You're loaded. In fact, why aren't there any crowns in there?" She nods to the closet, trying to tease me. I shift on my feet, making her eyes narrow on me again. "Teddy." My name is filled with warning.