Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
I couldn’t even tell if her face was traditionally attractive or not. I just remembered wanting to look away every time our eyes met, because she stared at me like a Rubik’s cube she wanted to figure out, not like a meal ticket.
“You’re a resourceful man.” Ollie flicked a chip of ice from his shoulder. “And it worked for the prince from Cinderella.”
“That was a fairytale.” Those appalled me. I detested the idea of happily-ever-afters. Downer-tragic-ending was more my brand. “Plus, in the Brothers Grimm version, Cinderella’s stepsisters amputate their feet to fit the shoe.”
Romeo jogged in place to shake off some of the cold.
We worked out six times a week, together when our schedules allowed it, then went through the ritual of the ice chamber, ultra-red lights, the dry sauna, and IV drips, usually at my place but occasionally at The Grand Regent when I craved a space Mom couldn’t find me.
“Fairytales exist.” Romeo gestured to himself. “Look at me.”
My upper lip curled into a sneer. “What you have with your wife isn’t a fairytale.”
“What would you call it, then?”
“The worst financial investment in the history of humanity.”
“He’s not wrong.” Oliver barked out a laugh. “You know I’m a fan of Dal, but I’ve met private jets more cost efficient than her.”
Rom blew out a cloud of air. “You don’t believe in fate?”
As if he’d believed in it before he’d become wildly obsessed with his other half.
Or should I say—his other quarter.
His wife was a tiny thing, but she made a lot of noise.
“I’m more of the chaos theory kind of guy. And she seems like anarchy, personified.”
Romeo had forced Dallas into marriage, which resulted in a whirlwind relationship with ups, downs, and enough angst for three historical C-dramas.
Over one year and four-point-three million dollars in the red later, he seemed happy with his wife. But I’d met some people who felt happy while infected with Lyme disease.
Humans largely had no standards.
“Anarchy or not, she caught your attention, and no one else has in the thirty odd years I’ve known you.” Romeo glanced at the timer. Probably counting down the seconds until he reunited with Dallas. The two of them sickened me. “That must mean something.”
“It means she’s deranged,” I supplied. “Completely unhinged and stupid enough to enter my lair uninvited.”
“She got in and stayed there for a few hours.” Ollie graduated to cupping his balls to protect them from the cold. “That means you enjoyed her company.”
“I’m not looking for her.” I watched my skin as it turned a nice shade of blue, wondering why it still felt the same, before and after.
The clock showed two minutes. Ollie and Rom had started chattering, shivering, jumping around. They were so soft. So alive and in tune with their stupid bodies.
I couldn’t decide if I was jealous or annoyed by it.
Rom migrated toward the exit. “Why not?”
“Because I have no use for her.”
“You haven’t finished that Go game.” Ollie snapped his fingers. “You know you won’t be able to live with the knowledge she could’ve beat you at it.”
“She couldn’t have. She barely survived the duration of our game.” I was certain I’d forget her soon.
Her measly existence hadn’t exactly left an imprint on my life.
“He’s going to look for her.” Romeo ran a hand over his dark mane, staring at the clock above our heads. “Fuck, it feels like I’ve been here since Thursday. Time crawls when you’re freezing to death.”
“I will not be looking for her,” I countered, not moving an inch, the icy smoke not penetrating my flesh even remotely.
I was numb.
So numb.
Always fucking numb.
Ollie elbowed Rom, leaning in to whisper. “What do you think they’ll call their children?”
Rom shoved him away.
Ollie’s dick swung with movement. It hadn’t shrunk a centimeter smaller in the subzero cold. It was probably a medical condition.
One of many, if I had to guess.
“Get the Fuck Out and Stupid Egg,” I hissed out through clenched teeth.
Ollie quirked his head sideways. “Is that in Chinese?”
Romeo trembled. “It’s in Zach.”
Twenty seconds left.
They’d progressed to pacing around aimlessly, trying to gather some heat.
I stayed put.
Oliver fingered his chin. “She’s the first woman he’s ever talked about.”
“And the last person he should be with.” Romeo elbowed Ollie away when he tried to huddle for body heat. “She’s a con woman. Remember?”
Ten seconds.
I refused to partake in this conversation. I had no reason to encourage these two morons to explore this topic further.
“Zach’s life is neat as shit.” Oliver began strolling toward the door, making a show of rubbing the ear we’d grabbed him by this morning. “He needs a little mess. She’d be good for him.”
Five seconds.
Romeo shook icicles off his hair, following Oliver. “I’d pay good money to get a front-row ticket to his downfall.”
The buzzer from the clock above our heads erupted.
We strolled out, single-file. Ollie grabbed the digital thermostat and pressed it to the back of his leg.