Total pages in book: 191
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
It took a second, but just a second.
But his expression slid off.
And the next thing I knew, those long, strong arms were wrapped around me, and he was pulling me into his warm, solid body. Those dry, firm lips pressed against my forehead, my temple, and my cheek as he said quietly, holding me there, “I don’t know what I’d do without you, kiddo.”
The truth was, I didn’t know what I’d do without him either.
Chapter Nineteen
There weren’t a whole lot of things more awkward than waking up in a place that wasn’t yours.
I’d mentally prepared myself for it the night before as I’d settled into a spare bedroom at Trevor’s house, one door down from CJ and two from Zac. The house was beautiful, and everything was clean—thanks to the service that came by twice a week—and the room I was staying in even had its own bathroom. When I’d been living with Connie, and even with my roommate, I’d had to share a bathroom.
Even though CJ and Zac had both assured me that Trevor was “okay” with me staying at his house for a little while, it was still weird.
It wasn’t the first time I’d stayed with people out of pity. That was how I’d ended up at my aunt and uncle’s house after Mamá Lupe had passed away and my parents had decided that they had to go back to the Dominican Republic as soon as possible, so that I could finish my senior year in high school. No one had wanted me to live by myself, and no one could pay her mortgage so they’d put the house up for sale. If my relationship with Connie had been any different, I would have thought it had been a pity invite when they’d told me to come up, but I knew her and Richard, her husband, too well to confuse what they’d offered.
Anyway.
The house was empty when I headed downstairs. I made sure to clean up after myself following breakfast and kept busy showering and then sitting at the kitchen island, working on my computer for a few hours. It wasn’t until after I’d made lunch and was sitting there eating it that my phone rang.
I glanced down at the screen and cursed. “Hello?” I answered, knowing I was going to regret this conversation.
“Blanca, it’s Gunner.”
No shit. He was calling me from work, which was listed on my phone now under MAIOHOUSESUCKS. And did he call me fucking Blanca again? My stomach turned in annoyance and I propped my fork against the plate. “Yes?” I replied tightly.
He went right into it. “I was thinking, while you’re on paid vacation—”
Vacation? Is that what he was calling it?
“—Could you get your friend Zac to come by and post a picture or two of him working out here?”
This asshole. I winced, shaking my head in disbelief. Did he really expect me to say yes? “No, he doesn’t have time,” I told him, straight up. What was the worst he would do? Fire me?
There was a sharp sound. “No?”
“No.” I should have known there was going to be a catch with his offer. If anything, it should be surprising it had taken him this long to call with his plan. He had more than likely come up with it from the moment he’d made the offer in the first place. “Is that all you needed?”
“No?” he repeated, sounding stunned.
I hoped he was.
“No,” I confirmed. “He can’t. Like I told you last time you asked. I have to go now, bye.” Before he had a chance to say anything else, I hung up. I was snorting at the nerve of him as the front door opened and heard a familiar “Kiddo?”
“I’m here,” I called out as I set my phone down and saved the footage I’d been in the middle of editing and turned on the barstool to find Zac coming in, holding a small duffel bag in one hand and a glass bottle of water in the other.
The only thing off about him was the weird smile on his face.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked him instantly.
He froze for a second as he dropped his bag against the wall and then headed over to where I was sitting. Zac wrapped his forearm around my neck from behind and pecked me twice on the cheekbone, right by my eye. He smelled like he’d just gotten out of the shower, and I liked it. A lot.
Too much.
“Darlin’, how can you always tell when somethin’s wrong?” he asked, his cheek coming to a pause over the top of my head. I liked that too much too.
Well, if he wanted to be affectionate… I tucked my chin and pressed my lips to his forearm briefly. “Because I know you too well. You’ve made just about every face possible in front of me at one point or another. And you look extra pale. Are you sick?”