Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I ignored her and dragged her into the restaurant, which didn’t open for another few hours but had staff on hand this early for setup and prep for the night ahead. I was sure there would be someone here who could make the dish I knew was her favorite, and something as small as that made me feel like pounding my chest.
“Doesn’t this place open at four?”
“Yes, but as part owner, I can come and go as I please.” Why that should make her glare at me again is anyone’s guess. Even without the curse, she’s a pain in the ass.
“How many times have you done this?”
“This is the first!” That seemed to smooth her ruffled feathers, and her pique of jealousy did wonders for the raging in my chest. Whatever the hell this thing was that she’d unleashed in me, it had teeth and was bound to devour her any second. It’s good that she’s full of piss and vinegar, I guess; that way, she can hold her own against it and not be swallowed up.
Had it not been for the interference from my family, my poor sister-in-law would’ve been in a world of shit, dealing with my brother as timid as she used to be. Then again, she didn’t have the Thorntons backing her as my little spitfire does. That, too, is good; they’ll help keep my crazy in check, so I don’t go too far and hurt her.
Just thinking about anyone getting between us made that raging in my chest act up again. “Hey!” She tugged at my hand, and only then did I realize that I’d grabbed her nape because of my thoughts. Ah damn! I guess there’s no use fighting it since it seems to have a mind of its own. I so do not need this shit.
The day was full of surprises, some of them aimed at me, but I’d shelve those for now. The most glaring thing, and the one that occupies my thoughts right now, is that the girl whom I’d always seen as spoiled and willful seems so grounded. There was no hint of the princess I’d always sarcastically called her in my mind, but instead a mature woman who held poise and an air of something more grandeur than the prissiness I’d come to expect.
I’ve only ever seen her in familial settings, surrounded by her family who always treated her like a pampered princess, letting her have her way in everything, so it was easy for me to get the wrong idea, I guess. Even though she wasn’t the youngest, I guess the fact that she was the youngest daughter made them all act and treat her like spun gold, something I always thought had gone to her head, making her someone I had no interest in, no matter what my heart and the family curse said.
Now I watched the way she dealt with the staff, how effusive she was with her apologies, since she knew that they weren’t really supposed to be serving anyone at this time. It wasn’t for show; that was obvious, and what was even more obvious was the way the men in the room reacted to her presence.
I would’ve called her out on her flirtatious ways, but the truth is, it just came naturally; she wasn’t doing it on purpose. I still felt like dragging her out of there and locking her away somewhere where no one else could see her. Does she have to attract everything with a dick? Intentional or not, I grew hot around the collar of my thousand-dollar business shirt.
The effortless way she smiled and talked with some of the kitchen staff who had come out to see her made me grind my teeth, and I had to remind myself that I had bought into the restaurant because I learned that it was one of her favorite haunts, so of course, they knew her here.
Yes, I’m that much of a behind-the-scenes simp, and I've done even more than that over the years, just to feel close to her. My idiot brother, once he found out had laughed his ass off for weeks afterward until he calmed down and seriously suggested that we kidnap her and drag her back home. Something I had given serious thought to until I came back to my senses.
Now, as the restaurant manager with his fifty-dollar smile, who came from the back office, where he was busy going over the prep for the coming night, found time to smarm, I wanted to knock his teeth out. I felt the way I did when she first started dating that Dale guy, and every time I heard that she was seeing someone.
She’d never know how I spent those days and nights; in fact, only Roman knew why I’d get blind drunk and break everything within reach because he would be the one watching over me until I passed out from the pain in my heart. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to go after her until now.