Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
I pat him on the shoulder. “I got it, Miller. I’ll make sure you know what’s going on.”
He huffs. “Right, I know, this is what you do, but she’s—”
I cut him off. “She’s your sister. I get it. Nothing is going to happen to her, I promise.”
He nods, and without another word, he walks out of the kitchen. I follow him through the house, and he stops by the front door. “Penn, you ready?”
He’s sitting on the couch with Skyler, and her eyes are on me as soon as I walk into the room.
Penn stands up. “I’m ready.” He’s talking to Miller but points at me. “We good here?”
Miller nods. “Yeah, we’re good.”
Penn smiles, comes over, and shakes my hand. “Take care of her man, or I’ll—”
“Kill me? I got it. You’re the third Brody to threaten me today. Your wife was the first one.”
When I mention his wife, his face tenses, but I’m not sure what to make of it.
Miller and Penn both hug Skyler, and I wait until they’re gone before I lock the door.
CHAPTER 6
SKYLER
My brothers leave, and I know Zach and I should talk, but I’m not sure what to say. So much has happened this evening, and I feel like I need to process it. “I’m going to bed.”
Zach is watching me closely. “Did you eat dinner?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m not that hungry.”
He scowls. “Sky, you didn’t eat any of the cookies or the cupcakes you made either. Eat with me.”
I lift my chin in surprise. “You want to eat dinner with me?”
As soon as I say it, I realize how it sounds. I’m acting like it’s a date or something. “I mean, do you want me to fix you something?”
He holds his hand out to me. “No, come on. I’ll fix us something to eat.”
I stare at his hand, and there’s a pull in my belly. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I know that there’s no world where Zach and I make sense. I avoid touching him and walk past him toward the kitchen. “I can heat up lasagna or cook some chicken if you prefer that.”
I’m walking past the island to go to the refrigerator when Zach calls my name. “Sky.”
I turn, and he’s right behind me. Instantly, I put a hand to his chest to steady myself, and his hands go to my waist.
“Hey,” he says.
I’m staring at his chest, frozen. Being this close to him, with his scent surrounding me, feeling the warmth and the weight of his hands on me is a little overwhelming. He lifts one of his hands to tilt my chin up so I’m looking at him.
He leans toward me. “Sky, I know you’re used to doing this all alone, but you don’t have to. Not anymore.”
I search his eyes. He’s making it sound like he’s going to stick around, and the way he’s looking at me feels like this is more than just him protecting me.
As soon as the thought forms, I shake my head, pulling from his hold. “What are we doing here, Zach?”
He huffs out a breath and then lifts me by my hips and sets me on the counter. It all happens so fast that I’m shocked speechless.
He cages me in, putting his hands on each side. “So this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to sit here, and I’m going to fix you something to eat. I want you to relax.”
He’s waiting for an answer, and only when I nod does he reluctantly back away. He walks over to the refrigerator, and I can’t take my eyes off him. His jeans are tight across his butt, and I feel guilty drooling over him, but heck, every part of him is nice to look at. “Do people still call you Fabio?” I blurt out.
He grabs some containers out of the fridge and turns to me holding them. His cheeks are red. “Not much since I cut my hair years ago.”
I nod, but I’m sure he’s just being humble. I sit on the counter and watch him work. Every now and then, he looks up at me and smiles or asks me where something is. When he has our food heated up, he hands me a bowl of lasagna with a fork.
I’m about to jump down when he puts his hands on my waist and lifts me down, pulling out the stool with his foot and putting me in the seat. He acts as if I weigh nothing when we both know that I eat more of my baking concoctions than I probably should.
“Is this common for you?”
He grabs two waters out of the fridge, sets them down in front of us, and then sits down on the stool next to me. Instantly, he turns to face me. “Is what common for me?”