Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 44963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Reginald,” I repeat. “He’s never going to hurt you again. Nobody is.”
She could ask what I mean. She could say, Whatever…Then I’d have to explain about this undeniable hunger within.
Instead, she nods to the steak. “Want some help with those?”
“No, I want to cook for you.”
I give her side a playful squeeze. It’s a revelation. I never knew I could be playful before I met Violet.
“It’ll make our date more special.”
The playfulness is especially shocking. Not because this is a new side of me I’ve learned about because of my woman, but also because of what I promised. I wouldn’t go after this Reginald bastard without my woman’s blessing. Resisting that dark urge is going to be difficult, but when I give my word to my woman, I mean it.
“Let me set the table,” she says, as I take out the pan for the steaks.
The scene gives me a preview of what life will be like when we’re officially together, when this is behind us, and we have a family. Whatever that looks like, whatever our kids are like, whatever career I end up choosing. Or maybe I’ll remain a hit man, taking jobs as and when I need them to best support my family.
“Have you thought about starting your own charity one day?” I ask, looking at her over the kitchen partition.
She smiles as she adjusts a fork. It’s a small thing, shifting the cutlery to the side, but it floods me with sudden emotion. It’s like we’re already married, like we’re already set up in our new lives.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says, with a quiver of anxiety.
I’m learning to read my woman’s moods. Maybe learning isn’t the right way to think about it since it feels so natural, like everything does with us.
“Why not?” I go on. “You are very passionate about your work.”
She rolls her eyes. She has no clue how gorgeous she is, how every little gesture or shift in expression sends affection deep into me. The dark, the blood, and the bluntness of my life fade into the background.
“I’ve thought about it,” she says.
“So…”
She sighs, shrugging. “That’s the thing with lots of charities, I guess.”
“What’s the thing?” I reply, chuckling, again awed at the simple act of laughter, of letting go.
She returns my laughter. It’s a gorgeous sound, so welcoming, so beautiful.
So mine.
“With a lot of them, the money doesn’t get to the people who need it most. I’m not claiming that all charities are like this, but when I do my research, I guess I’m struck by how high some salaries are. Sometimes, it seems it’s more about the people running the charity than the people who need help, but…”
She trails off with an aura of anxiety.
“I’m interested,” I tell her.
“Are you sure you want to listen to me go on and on?”
I smirk. “I’d listen to you for weeks. Years. Decades.”
She grins, taking it as a joke. She doesn’t know how completely serious I am. She doesn’t know I mean it with more depth than I’ve ever meant anything.
“People have to live, too,” she says.
“You need to find a man who can support you. Then money won’t have to enter the equation. You’ll be able to focus on your work and nothing else.”
“Oh, yeah. Let me just find some generous benefactor to finance my dream.”
She says it like it’s an impossibility, but I’m right here. Ready to do what it takes. I turn to the steaks, knowing I’m getting close to crossing another line.
“What about you?” she asks.
“What about me?” I flip the steaks. “I’m not much of a PR man. It goes against every instinct I have.”
“No, I get that. I mean… what do you want to do after you’re done with, uh, this career?”
I turn back to her.
“It’s difficult for you to talk about my work.”
“It’s not as difficult as it should be.” She stares at me bravely, with heat in her cheeks. “I keep thinking that. Oh, I should want to run. I should have more of a problem with this.”
“It must be my charm,” I say, smirking.
“Don’t make a joke of it,” she replies. “I mean it. How amazing is that? It might say something about me. But despite your job, Luke, I know you’re a good man. I can feel it. Surely, you don’t want to do this work forever.”
“It’s all I’ve known for so long,” I reply.
“Ever since you were nineteen,” she puts in.
“You remembered,” I say. “I never thought about what came after. Truth is, Violet, I never thought much beyond the next week before…”
“Before you saved me and Dad?” she prompts.
Yes, but not how you think. I never thought about the future before I met you, and you opened a whole universe of possibilities for me.
“Yeah,” I say, since all that other stuff could make everything so damn messy.