Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“That’s what god made cast-iron skillets for.” It was what her momma always said. “I’ll be fine. You guys have fun. You’ve spent so much time and effort and energy on this wedding. You need to let Dad take care of you for a few days. Let Papa know you’re still his wife and not only a mom.”
Tears shone in her mother’s eyes, and her hands came up to smooth back Olivia’s hair. Like she had when she was a girl and this woman was the center of her world. She still was, though they were on more even ground now. Her mother was the best person she knew, though her dads were close. She had the best family in the world, and she should have trusted them.
“Okay, baby. Thank you for taking care of everything at home. I love you so much.” Her mom pulled her into another hug. “And I will not tell your dads about your wild night. They’ll try to figure out who it is and have a talk with them. But, baby, you need to take a shower because you smell like sex, and your papa will not politely ignore it the way your dad will.”
Her papa would want to know. Her papa would tease her endlessly. In a loving way.
She hadn’t planned on taking a shower. Her hair would take forever to dry.
Or she could let it dry naturally.
“Okay,” she said and gestured to the door. “Go out there and play hostess. I’ll be out soon. And if you go shopping, I wouldn’t mind a new bag. After all, I suspect I’m going to be dealing with contractors, too.”
Her mom blew her a kiss. “I appreciate you so much, and I will find you some presents. You know I love to shop.”
She laughed as her mom left and headed to the shower.
She hoped her houseguests were nice men.
Really hoped.
Chapter Four
Keane sat in the small private jet and wondered what kind of woman demanded a private jet when she could drive a couple of hours.
The truth of the matter was he didn’t like flying.
Well, he didn’t know if he liked flying because he’d never actually flown. No one flew the foster kid anywhere and once he hit prison, they were really more bus people. He’d ridden up with Aidan and Lexi, while Garrett had come on a plane a few days earlier with Lucas so they could meet with Julian Lodge and Finn Taylor.
He was anxious and kind of pissed off because Red had been gone this morning. He was a man who slept light. He’d learned it from a young age. The bad shit came at you at night when the lights were off and anyone who might protect you was sleeping.
Yet he had slept so deeply he didn’t wake up when she left the bed. And she’d been between them.
He woke up feeling better than he had in years, ready to kiss her awake and dirty her up and order breakfast and she was gone.
Now he was on a plane when they could have rented a car and gotten there in less than three hours and probably stopped at a Buc-ee’s and gotten beaver nuggets.
He didn’t like the plane. It was a tin can that would go tens of thousands of feet in the air.
“I’m going to put out some feelers on who Red is,” Garrett said, flipping open his ever-present laptop. He was completely unaffected because he did fly a lot. Especially since they’d taken the jobs with the O’Malleys.
Sometimes he wondered if they were growing apart. It was a natural thing. Most people didn’t end up with the same friend they had in grade school. Garrett had gone to law school. Keane had gone to prison. It was a miracle they lasted this long.
And then last night happened and everything felt perfect. This was what they needed. They needed her.
But she was gone.
Somehow he’d thought she would change her mind in the morning. He thought she would wake up and realize they didn’t have to keep it to one night. He wasn’t sure where in Texas she lived, but they could make it work.
Not if she was gone and meant what she said, they couldn’t.
“She didn’t want us to find her.” Sometimes Garrett was too optimistic. Keane glanced down at his watch. 12:15. “Weren’t we supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago?”
“Well, we can’t leave without the boss’s daughter.” Garrett didn’t look up from his screen. “And how do we know if we don’t look for her and ask?”
“We know because she told us.” It hurt, but in a lot of ways it was probably easier. It wasn’t like most women wanted a threesome for anything but sex. Red admitted last night was a first for her. She’d enjoyed it and likely would again, but she wouldn’t want to openly date two men. That would make Keane the dirty secret since Garrett was the perfect boyfriend. A lawyer, smooth and polished. He might not have grown up with much, but he adapted well.