Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
There’s no going back. The damage is done. I let myself get too involved. I let hopes and dreams get tangled around an agreement we never should’ve made. I should’ve listened to that voice in my head, telling me that this would end terribly rather than letting it cling to the hope Madison mentioned.
I shake my head. I will not place the blame for this on anyone else. This is solely my fault. Madison let her own happiness leach over into my life, and she couldn’t help it. People happy in love want that for everyone else they know. Her wanting me to find my happily ever after, after she found hers, is no different from the harassment I get from my parents and brothers about finding mine. Although, Ronnie and Donnie are incredibly picky and tell me often that there isn’t a man who walks this earth worthy of me.
I debate heading inside my home, but I know I’d just curl into a ball once I got there.
Instead of climbing out of my car, I put it in reverse and back right back out of the driveway, Mr. Hinkle’s horn blaring when I almost pull out in front of him.
He frowns at me when I lift my hand in apology, his head shaking back and forth, no doubt questioning why women were ever given the right to operate motor vehicles in the first place.
With my heart pounding from the near collision, I use more caution when I finally do back out. Instead of heading to my mom’s or dad’s, I shoot to the far side of town, just outside the city limits, where my brothers live.
They live together, which I guess has always been a given since they literally do everything together.
A car I don’t recognize is parked in the driveway, and a frisson of excitement threatens to lessen the pain I feel about Cash as I park.
I climb out of my car, turning my head to peek into the window of the car to try and get a read on who owns it, as I walk by.
“Why are you here?”
I frown as I look up and see Donnie standing on the front porch.
“Why are you not at work?” I ask instead of answering.
“We’re working nights right now because of the heat. Why are you here?”
“Whose car is that?” I ask.
“Nunya,” he says, his arms coming to cross over his chest.
“That’s mature,” I chide as I close the distance.
“Is she a student at the school?” I ask, having noticed the parking permit on the top left corner of her windshield. “Or is she staff?”
I know the answer before he lies because the parking permits for Lindell University are color coded, and anything other than white is issued to students. The purple tag on the car tells me at least she’s a senior. Red is given to freshmen as if a warning that they’re too young, and only a few of those are handed out each year. Most freshmen aren’t even allowed a vehicle on campus.
“Who are you talking about?” he asks, as if I’m delusional.
“The girl who drives that car,” I tell him, my voice containing more annoyance than I have the right to, considering I’m the one who showed up at their house unannounced.
“See you at work.”
I swear my jaw hangs open when I see a guy walk out onto the porch. His bright blue eyes turn in my direction. His sun-kissed hair looks almost white when he steps out from under the shade of the porch.
Donnie looks disappointed when the guy claps him on the back before climbing down the stairs.
“Hey,” the guy says as he walks past me. “Gonne be late for class. Think you can move?”
I take a step to the side, my eyes still locked on my brother.
“Ma’am?”
I scrunch my nose.
“Ma’am?” I repeat, turning my full attention to the guy who looks older than the sticker on his car indicates he is. The man is sheer perfection with his chiseled jaw and perfect teeth.
The smile he’s giving me is charming, and I have no doubt the man uses it all the time to get what he wants.
“Carter,” Ronnie snaps, and it pulls my attention from the charming guy smiling at me to my other brother who is also now standing on the front porch.
Both men look like annoyed statues as they glare in our direction.
“Adalynn,” I say, holding my hand out to the guy.
“Ah,” he says, a hint of recognition in his tone. “The little sister.”
“You seem to know a lot more about me than I do you, Carter.”
His palm is warm in mine when we shake.
“I know you’re blocking me in.”
I chuckle, looking over my shoulder at my car.
“Seems I am. Maybe I won’t let you leave until you tell me all the things.”