Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
But in the end, I’d emerged on the other side of summer ready to shed my leaves along with the fall trees. The truth was William had brought a sleeping giant to life. I felt a new me — a better me — waiting just below the surface for her chance to shine in the spring. I didn’t shield my eyes as the morning light grew brighter and brighter on the beach around us. I simply held on tighter to the one person whose darkness offered the perfect balance.
The sun was rising.
And we were rising with it.
TWO YEARS LATER
I smoothed my hands down the thin black fabric of my dress, turning to inspect myself in the mirror once more. My new, shorter, brighter blonde hair was slightly curled and it framed my face at the chin. There were no lumps showing beneath the tight dress, still I stretched it and smoothed it over and over again.
“You look perfect.” William’s deep voice echoed through our bedroom as he slid up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle.
“I think it’s too small.”
A smirk curved on his lips. “Just because it’s a single digit doesn’t mean it’s too small, Bug.” He kissed my temple and I turned in his arms, running my hands up his biceps currently covered by a blazer.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to a size eight. I guess I have you to thank for that.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said, kissing my nose. “Thank the squats.”
I giggled.
“Ready?”
Licking my lower lip, I slid my hands down his chest and hooked them into the band of his dress pants. He inhaled a stiff breath and I felt him grow hard through the fabric. “Are you sure we have to leave the house?”
He groaned, running his hands back through my hair and tugging it gently, forcing my face up to his. He pressed his lips against mine and bit the lower lip I’d just licked to tease him. “Go ahead. Tease me all you want tonight, Bug. Just remember that later when I pay you back.”
His words sent a jolt straight between my legs and my thighs tensed. William didn’t break the kiss, though — he deepened it, running his rough hands down the open back of my dress to firmly palm my ass. I moaned into his mouth and he finally pulled away, leaving me panting for more.
“Looking forward to it,” I said, breathless. I went to steal another kiss, but Zipper ran between our legs, tail wagging furiously, knocking both of us back a step.
“What do you say, Zip? You going to be good while we’re gone?”
Our rough-around-the-edges pit bull sat down quickly, planting his front feet and looking up at us with wide eyes and tongue flopped out. I rubbed the white spot on his head before leaning down to kiss his nose, to which he responded with a sneeze and another sprint through the house.
We rescued Zipper last Christmas and he’d been a part of our little dysfunctional family ever since. He was hyper, got into trouble more days than not, and I’d lost count of how many pairs of shoes had fallen victim to his chewing habit. Still, he reminded me a lot of Rhodes when we first met — people were scared of him, he seemed dangerous, but inside he was kind and caring and brave. One more week in the shelter and he would have been put down. Some say we saved him, but I think it might be the other way around. Where therapy failed over the last few months, Zipper succeeded.
He ran through the house full speed, using the front door as a backboard before bounding back toward us.
William chuckled, watching Zipper run another lap before smacking my ass playfully as he motioned toward the door. If it weren’t such an important dinner, I likely would have continued my teasing until he gave up and let me stay home with him. As it was, we were expected to meet with his sister and my mom — neither of who we saw much anymore.
The drive to the restaurant was short, but I stared out the window the entire time. Even though we’d lived in Savannah for over a year, I still marveled at how beautiful the town was. There was so much history, but more than that — life. Every square of the city buzzed with beauty and excitement.
Still, any time I was quiet, the noise in my head would creep in. I’d come a long way in the two years since everything happened, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever truly move on and forget. Therapy had helped, in the beginning at least, but I realized after a while that the only person I wanted to talk to about everything was William. He knew me better than I even knew myself. And so we leaned on each other, in the good times and the bad, and our foundation that had once been cracked and breaking was rebuilt slowly and steadily. It was stronger than ever now.