Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
I call him as soon as I pull out of the garage. “Hey, beautiful,” he croaks, and his voice is deep and it sounds like he was sleeping.
“I just left work,” I tell him. “Should I come over now or later?”
“Now,” he replies. “Call me when you are close and I’ll open the garage door for you so you can park inside.”
“Should I bring anything?” I ask him. “Pick up anything?”
“Just you, baby,” he says, his voice a grumble, and I can’t help but smile.
“See you soon,” I say, putting the phone down. Pulling up to his house, he’s standing in the open garage door. He waits for me to turn off the car before pressing the button for the door.
I am barely out of the SUV when he wraps his arms around me and gives me the biggest hug I’ve ever had in my whole life. It’s not a hug that says “Hey, glad you’re here.” No, it’s a hug that says, ‘Now that you’re here, I’m okay.’
“Someone missed me,” I note, looking up at him and seeing his eyes look tired.
“Best thing that happened to me today,” he replies, and I reach up to touch his face.
“I thought the best thing would have been the team winning.” I try to make a joke out of it.
“Seeing them win was good.” He wraps his arm around my waist as we make it inside. “Reading the headlines today, not so much.”
“Don’t you know the rules?” I ask him. “Never, ever read the headlines.” I smile up at him as he walks us into the kitchen. “It’s like a rule in our house that we weren’t allowed to read the headlines or talk about the headlines. Sort of like Fight Club.”
He picks me up and places me on the counter, and my legs open for him as he steps in between them. “No one told me that rule,” he admits as I lay my arms on his shoulders. “I should probably listen to that one.”
“You should,” I tell him. “Follow me for more of my TED talks.” I make a joke and when he bends his head, his mouth swallows our laughter. His tongue slides into my mouth and the kiss softens, and then it’s as if we haven’t seen each other in weeks or months. He pulls me closer to him and my legs wrap around his waist. His hands go from my back to my breasts, and he’s about to peel the shirt off me when the doorbell rings.
He steps away as he looks at me as if I’m the one ringing the doorbell. “Yeah, right, it’s me,” I say, pushing him and then I look around. “Who is it?” I ask him.
He walks over to the side of the fridge, checking his monitor and his hands go to his head. “It’s your brother.”
“What?” I hop off the counter. “Why?” I ask him, looking around and then heading for the stairs. “I’ll be in your room. Do not tell him I’m here.”
“Yeah,” he hisses at me as he runs his hands through his hair, “that’s exactly what I’m going to tell him.” I make it downstairs as he opens the door.
“Hey,” I hear him say as I hide at the entrance of his room, looking up, “this is a surprise.” He clears his throat. “Come in.” I put my hands on my mouth when I remember I left my purse right near the garage door.
“I think we should talk,” Jaxon says, and I lean in more to make sure I can hear him, “especially after what happened on the road.”
“Yeah,” Zane agrees, “we should. I’m sorry for snapping at you. There was a time and a place for it and the bench wasn’t one of them.”
“I deserved it,” Jaxon admits, and I smile, but then the smile fades. “Listen, I want you to know I think you’re a great guy.” My stomach tightens and my mouth dries. “I just don’t know if you are the guy to lead the team.” I close my eyes, the burning at the back of my neck makes my eyes go dry and start to sting. “I think that a couple of years down the line with more experience under your belt, you would be fantastic.”
“So you came over here to tell me that I suck at my job?” Zane’s voice sounds as if he’s both pissed and sad at the same time.
“No, I came over here to tell you I think you should really think about things moving forward. Change things up a bit. Go back to what Martin was doing, since it was working. Maybe this group of guys is too much for you. They’re veteran players and most of them don’t really take well to change.”
“Are you one of them?” The question is valid. I close my eyes as I wait for the answer.