Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Blade pauses outside the door of his office, the one he said was undergoing renovations. He plucks a leaf from my hair. “Do you remember you asked me what I did?”
“You said you work from home.” I can’t stop smiling. I don’t think I’ll ever frown again. Not when I know I have a man as hot as Blade who finds me so irresistible he wants to chase me down and fuck me from behind.
“I do…as a book narrator.” He opens the door to his office.
I step into the space and glance around. It’s a pretty standard office other than the huge boom mic above his computer. “It’s so weird that two book narrators would live in such a small town and not even…”
I stop as I realize what this means. There aren’t two book narrators living in Courage County. There’s only one.
Landon Shaw.
Blade is Landon Shaw.
I struggle to pull in my next breath as tears fill my eyes. No, it can’t be. I’m not understanding this right. I want someone to tell me I have this all wrong. But as I glance at Blade’s face, something flickers over it. Guilt.
All those times when I couldn’t decide how he was looking at me.
It was guilt.
“You’ve lied to me.” Something pinches in my chest. Is that what it feels like to have a heart attack? I’m pretty sure this sensation that the world is imploding is exactly what it feels like.
“I…” He opens his mouth then snaps it closed. He did lie to me, and there’s no defense for that. He knows it, and I know it.
Tears prick behind my eyelids, but I refuse to let them fall.
He makes a pained noise when he sees them, as if it’s hurting him to know I’m in pain. But that can’t be right. That just has to be my wishful thinking. I’ve spent so long waiting to be loved that I was willing to accept scraps of affection. Dammit, I really am pathetic. “Did your book club have a good laugh at me? Your friends too?”
“What? No—” He tries to take a step toward me, to do what I don’t know.
But I step back. I can’t stand the idea that he would touch me now. “It’s time for me to go.”
“No, I’m not letting you.” He shakes his head. “We can talk about this. Yeah, I didn’t admit who I was, and that was—”
“Wrong and cowardly,” I answer and duck by him. I slip out the door of the office easily. He must have been laughing too. They all must have thought it was funny. Look at the pitiful little romance writer who just wants to be loved.
He grabs my arm as I step into the hall. He could overpower me. He could keep me here. Zoey is the only one who knows where I am. But I know instinctively that Blade won’t do that. He’s a good man, even if he doesn’t think so.
I push back the thought. “I gave you my virginity. I trusted you with my body. I gave you everything, and you lied to me.”
“And you have every right to be mad as hell about it. But don’t walk away from this, from us. You’re mine. You’re my meant to be.”
“Yeah, I thought you were my soulmate. Turns out, I was wrong.” I swipe at my face and manage to hold it together. “And you have no idea how disappointed I am.”
Blade drops my arm and staggers back as if he’s been hit.
I can’t believe I did this. I can’t believe I fell in love with a mountain man and thought I’d found my forever. I really am naïve.
I move to the bedroom and gather my things. It takes me a few minutes because I’ve strewn my stuff everywhere. It’s all mixed in with his, like I was planning on staying forever. Like I was living some damn fairytale.
Blade watches me the entire time, but he doesn’t try to convince me to stay anymore. He doesn’t say anything at all.
I help Alvin into the kitty carrier. He makes a mournful noise as he climbs inside, as if he understands that we’re never coming back again. This is the last time we’ll ever see this cabin. I glance around it a final time, my gaze landing on Blade. His shoulders have slumped and his head is down. Part of me wants to go to him, to comfort him.
But I fight back against the urge. He’s not interested in forever. He would have told me his real identity sooner if he’d wanted me. No, it’s better if I just leave.
Blade
Waking up on my couch, I stumble toward the bathroom. I reach for the door and scowl when the knob is locked. I jiggle it at the same time a deep voice asks, “What the fuck are you doing?”