Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Is he kidding? “Uh.” My gaze slides to my shoes, and I run my hand over the back of my neck. “She still has some turning eighteen to do.”
I meet his eyes again but don’t find the anger I expected. He’s more…thoughtful. And with Remy, that’s scarier than his fury. “Her birthday’s next month, ya dick. Our father sure as shit has no say in what either of us do.” He scratches his chin. “And obviously you weren’t planning to ask for my permission anytime soon.”
I shrug. “She’s not keen on the whole permission thing.”
He snorts. “Yeah, I figured. So, what’s the big deal?”
“Okay. Great.” I take a step toward the dining room. “Glad we cleared this up.”
“Whoa.” Remy hurries to block my path and slaps his hand against my chest, stopping me. “Slow down there, cowboy.”
I knew that was too easy.
“I’m cool with you dating Molly. But there’ll be no sleepovers at your apartment. You treat her with respect.” Remy’s never sounded more like a dad in his life.
“You’re sure you’re okay with this?”
“Why? You going to give her up if I say no?”
My blood pressure spikes again. “Fuck no.”
His face loses some of the hard edge. “I know you’ll be good to her.” He lowers his voice. “I know how much you care about her and wouldn’t let anything hurt her.”
That doesn’t require an answer, so I just nod.
“By anything, I mean you too,” he adds.
“I can’t guarantee one of us won’t get hurt but I’ll do everything I can to make sure it’s me.”
“So will I.” He stares at me.
“I hear you.”
“Good. Then hear this too.” He crosses his arms over his chest. For someone who acted so sleepy when I got here, he sure put a lot of thought into this conversation. “I want her to finish college. So you can date her on two conditions.”
He’s dead serious, so I wait for his “conditions.”
“Don’t get her pregnant, and do not stop her from going to school wherever she wants to go.”
I swallow hard and focus on his second request. “I’d never do that. I want her to go to college as much as you do.”
“Good.”
Since we’re being so open and honest this morning… “Now, I have something I need you to do.”
“Letting you date my sister isn’t enough?”
I glare at him. “It’s not for me. You gotta do something to help Molly out.”
“Help her with what?” He scowls. “I’m not giving her advice on how to date you.”
“What?” I screw my face into a what-the-fuck expression. “It’s not about us. It’s about her. She needs financial aid forms filled out for college.”
Remy blinks at me. How has none of this occurred to him yet? I didn’t understand right away. But Molly lives with him, and he’s fixated on her getting out of this town and going away to college. He’s smart enough to know college isn’t free or even cheap.
Then again, he’s busy working his ass off every waking moment, trying to maintain this house and his grandparents’ business. “She can explain it better than I can,” I say, not wanting to bring up their dad right now.
“All right. I’ll talk to her.” He holds his arms out. “Get over here, jackass.”
How can I say no? He handled this a lot better than I ever expected. Still wary, I go in slow, accepting a brief hug. He smacks me on the back a few times—with more force than necessary.
Why the fuck didn’t I come clean sooner?
After a few seconds, he pushes me away and drills me with a hard stare. “One last thing.”
I lift an eyebrow and wait.
“You cheat on her”—he points a finger in my face—“I’ll break you in half.”
My anger bubbles to the surface. “The fuck is wrong with you?” I slap his hand away. “I just told you to stop trying to shove bunnies on my dick because I’m crazy about your sister.”
He barely reacts to my outburst. “Still, I want you to understand, best friend or not, if you do anything to hurt or embarrass her in any way, I’ll fucking end you.”
“I’d never cheat on her.”
He reaches out and slaps my cheek a few times. “Yeah, you’re not like me. One girl’s all your squishy, wholesome heart can handle.”
I smack his hand away again. It’s been a few months since Remy and I faced off in the cage. Maybe we’re due for a round of sparring. “She’s the only girl I want to handle.”
“You sure she feels the same way?” He cocks his head, ignoring the dirty emphasis I put on “handle.”
Is he still fucking with me or is that a serious question?
“We’ve, you know, talked.” My mind flashes back to the night we made out in front of the house. And on the couch in Remy’s living room. At the racetrack. At the garage...outside of Molly’s job. My lips curl up. We’ve done a lot more than talk.