Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
“Your dad?”
“Furious. I threw away the future he’d planned out down to the last detail, the war chest of money he’d raised and everything else. You already know how Daria felt. After hockey, I chose a start-up instead of jumping into the primary for the open seat in Congress. Our marriage went from checked out to total shit real fast, and I’m not sorry. I can’t be. We never should’ve gotten married in the first place.”
“But then you wouldn’t have the twins,” she reminds me.
For a second, I just stare at her.
Awestruck because she listens.
“That’s why I don’t regret the disaster. How can I? Without Dan and Sophie, I don’t have a clue who or what I’d be.” Though there’s plenty I wish I’d done differently, yes.
I never should’ve wasted so many years entertaining what other people wanted, trying to jam their enormous square dreams through the smaller round hole of mine.
“Did you ever love her?” Margot hesitates, like she’s not sure she wants an answer.
“I thought I did once. Before I knew any better or knew what kind of person she was. But now, looking back… I don’t think I ever did. She certainly never loved me. If it’s love, you don’t fucking cheat. Not hard.”
“That’s so shitty.” Her eyes glisten, and she makes a little sigh of agreement.
“It was. But it’s not so bad now. I’m not limping around wounded or anything. I’m just glad to be out of there.”
“My ex cheated, too,” she says.
I instinctively pull her closer.
“Tell me his name and I’ll make sure he’s sorry.”
She laughs.
“No need—he’s not with me, so that’s payback enough. He actually thought I’d just forgive him because how was he supposed to limit himself to ‘only one person’? Jackwad. Like it was no different than morning coffee.” She laughs bitterly, then shrugs. “I thought I’d be heartbroken forever, but I’m doing pretty well these days.”
“You’re better off without him, duchess. No question.” I can’t control the jealous thorns in my voice.
“That’s what I realized. And I hope you did, too.”
“Definitely,” I say. “Daria was a drag on my life.”
“But you shouldn’t keep blaming yourself for her behavior,” she tells me now, leaning in to kiss my neck, soft lips fluttering against my skin. “Everyone makes mistakes, and you did the right thing. You put your kids first.”
As I hold her, I wonder if I’m doing anything right now.
Falling for this strange woman who drips false promises like honey, bringing her around my kids, knowing there’s no future.
If only she didn’t feel this good.
If only I could think in her presence.
She says I put my kids first, but hooking up with her is a time bomb.
When it explodes, I won’t be the only one mangled in the wreckage.
Sophie, she’s already on her way to worshipping Margot Blackthorn and her talents. Dan, he’s brighter than ever with a woman around who listens, taking his jokes in stride and throwing them back.
They like her so much they’re welcoming her into our little family unit without question.
Hell, Sophie even went to her alone and asked if she could help with her deepest, darkest fear.
Not me.
Margot.
What the fuck am I doing?
I don’t even know if I’m cut out for another relationship.
I thought I’d spend years licking my wounds after finalizing the divorce, and I swore off women entirely. Everything was easier that way.
Now?
Now, I’m the asshole making it hard.
She feels the way I tense and she leans back, looking up with questions in her pretty eyes.
We’ve never talked about what this is, what I’m doing with her, and those words feel crushing.
But I also feel her studying me, asking without uttering a single word.
I wish I had answers.
I’m just as stranded in the dark as her, stumbling around.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I admit roughly. “Even if it’s just for another week or so.”
“Hey, me too!” Her fingers graze my cheek, gentle enough to make me shiver.
Neither of us needs to mention what happens after that.
Prowlers or not, we already know.
We have lives to get back to.
Lives too complicated for a random wildfire that can’t keep burning forever.
Goddammit, though, I don’t want to put it out.
I don’t want her with any man who won’t cherish her like gold.
I don’t want her to settle for another fuckboy—or worse, an arranged marriage based on money or status or value proposition.
She smiles up at me, soft and reassuring, breaking through my haze as she stretches on her toes.
I sweep her closer, pinning her against me as I kiss her so reverently I try to forget the fuckery that’s happened today.
Here, there’s only room for two beating hearts.
There’s just duchess, me, and an F5 spinning heartache.
She’s so soft, so sweet, but for once I’m not desperate to haul her off to bed and fuck her this instant.
This is enough right now.