Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Dinner was nice. I took her to the same Italian restaurant my parents had been headed to when they were killed in the accident. Because of Rylie’s new fake ID, we were both able to drink wine in their honor. We reminisced and celebrated like our parents would have wanted us to.
“You’re quiet. Are you nervous?” Rylie asks from the passenger seat of my truck.
I squeeze her hand that’s tight in my grasp, resting on my lap. “I’m not nervous. Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nods. “I’m ready.”
I flash her a grin as I pull into a spot in front of the tattoo parlor. As soon as I shut off the car, I bring her hand up and kiss her knuckles before releasing her. “You look nice. Too nice,” I grumble.
Her laugh is musical and so fucking sweet. “Thanks, I think.”
My eyes rake over her navy-blue dress that hugs her thin body. It’s strapless and the small swell of her breasts gets my cock hard. It’ll be difficult to not want to punch fuckers in the face who check her out.
“Before we go in, I wanted to give you your present.”
She furls her brows together. “I thought the tattoo was my present.”
“That’s your other present,” I say with a laugh.
I pull the small box from my pocket and hand it to her. “I wanted you to have something that would make you think of me when I wasn’t there. And…” I grit my teeth. “And to remind you that if we had a different life, I’d give you everything.”
Her throat bobs and her bottom lip trembles as she takes the box from me. She opens it and lets out a gasp. “It’s beautiful.”
I exhale sharply in relief. “I’m glad you like it. I wanted something simple and not obvious to anyone but us.”
She pulls the white gold necklace from the box and holds it up in front of her. Two gold rings hang from the chain. One is thicker and larger. The other one is thin and dainty. They’re wedding bands. Inexpensive. No detail. Simple. But the meaning behind them is everything.
In another life, it could be us.
I don’t have to explain it to her, she knows.
Life is unfair. It stole our parents and pushed us together in a way no two siblings are supposed to love. And we can’t have it. We’re all we have left and we’re still as alone as can be.
“Thank you, Hudson,” she murmurs tearfully. “Can you put it on me?”
“Of course. Pull your hair up.”
She hands me the necklace and then sweeps her hair do the side, exposing her neck to me. It’s dark out and we’re in a seedy part of town. No one will know. Leaning forward, I kiss her skin where her neck meets her shoulder before I fasten the necklace around her. Once it’s in place, the rings hanging down just above her breasts, I run my fingers across her chest before sliding the tip of my pinky through both of the rings.
“It looks good on you.” I reluctantly release the jewelry. Once we head inside, I’ll have to share her for hours. All I want is to hold her and kiss her, but it’s her birthday. She deserves the best birthday. “Let’s do this, heathen.”
“All done, man. What do you think?” the tattoo artist named Mike asks.
I stand from the chair and walk over to the mirror. When Rylie said she wanted Hale tattooed on her in my handwriting, I decided I wanted to do the same but with her handwriting. The black ink has her neat flourishes scrawled across my ribs. Soon, she’ll have a matching tattoo.
“Looks awesome. I love it.”
Rylie walks over to me and admires it with a smile. “I love it too.”
I give her a wink and her cheeks turn slightly pink.
“Did it hurt?”
“Fuck yes, it did,” I say with a laugh. “But you’re tough. You’ve got this.”
“You’re next, little lady,” Mike says and slaps the chair. “I’m going to step out and have a smoke. That’ll give you a chance to pull your dress down so I can get to those ribs and get settled.” He pulls the door closed behind him.
A flare of jealousy rises up inside of me knowing he’ll be touching her bare skin soon.
“You can’t murder the tattoo guy,” Rylie says, giggling.
Fuck, her giggles are an instant mood lifter. I go from wanting to kill a man to wanting to tickle her just to hear it again.
“Come here,” I order, my voice husky.
Her eyes burn with intensity. I know whatever I’m thinking about her, she seems to be mirroring those thoughts. I motion for her to turn her back to me. Gripping the zipper, I tug it down to her ass. The dress starts to slide off, but she holds it to her chest. Her back is naked.