Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“Take a deep breath, honey.” His thumb sweeps back and forth along the edge of my jaw.
“I don’t know what’s going on.” I gulp air, but it doesn’t fill my lungs.
“It’s okay. You’re okay.”
He pulls me close, and I wrap my arms around him, holding on for dear life. Like he’s a buoy. Like he can save me from whatever this is. “I—I can’t breathe.”
He lets me cling to him for a few seconds before he unwraps my arms and hands me his Terror water bottle with the absurd goose logo. “Drink this.”
I grip it with both hands, but even then, it wobbles perilously. He helps me steady it while I take a sip. The ice-cold water is startling but refreshing.
“Good girl. A little more,” he cajoles.
I refuse to acknowledge how that simple praise makes me feel instantly better, but I do as he says.
“That’s it. You’re doing great. You got this, Wills.” His smile is as soft as his voice. He tips the water bottle again.
The cold liquid slides down my throat. My tunnel vision clears as the sensation that someone is gripping my throat eases.
He sets the water bottle back in the center console and wraps his wide, warm palms around my calves, squeezing gently. “Do you feel a little better?”
“I don’t even know what that was.” Embarrassment washes over me. “I felt like I was choking, and I couldn’t take a breath, and my whole body went…numb? Did I just have some kind of medical episode? Do I need to go to the hospital?”
His expression shifts to empathy. “You had a panic attack.”
I blink at him. “That’s impossible. I don’t panic.”
“Normally, I would agree. However, I have some experience with panic, and everything you’ve just described fits into that category.”
I frown.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’ve created a lot more stress for you around this reunion. I’m sure it feels like we’re walking into the jaws of a lion. But I’ve got you, okay? I got you into this shit, and I won’t let you go through it alone. Not ever again.”
He’s talking about a lot more than the reunion, but I’m afraid to put that much faith in him—especially since he’s right; he is the reason we’re in this mess. But if I take a step back and set aside our tumultuous history, he’s been all-in since the moment we started fake dating.
“I can’t have that happen again, Dallas.” I’m not just talking about the panic attack. I’m talking about all of it, including what he did to me all those years ago.
He strokes my cheek and takes my hand, eyes brimming with emotion. “I won’t let it. I promise, Wilhelmina.”
I wish I could believe him. I pull my hand free and tuck myself back into the passenger seat. “I’m fine now. Thank you for whatever you did to make that stop.”
He doesn’t move yet. “If you need another minute, we can stop somewhere. Grab an iced latte.”
I can’t afford to be weak. Not with the shitstorm of a weekend ahead of us. Starting with Brooklyn and Sean’s engagement party. “It’s better if we don’t. We’ll run into someone.” And I’m not ready for that, clearly. I tap his knee, which is resting against my calf. “Seriously. I’m fine. Your magic worked. I’m good to go.” I give him the thumbs-up.
He reluctantly stands and closes the passenger door.
I exhale a relieved breath. Having him that close, touching me, makes it hard to think clearly. The orgasm deal was a bad idea. I inspect my shaking hands as he rounds the hood. For a moment, I’m transported back to prom all those years ago. The way my body feels now is an echo of that night in the parking lot. It’s the only time in my life I’ve lost it like that. It took forever to get myself under control again. But no one was there to witness it. And there was no one to calm me down, either. I cried so hard I made myself sick.
Dallas settles back in the driver’s seat. “Wilhelmina?”
I can feel his eyes on me as I force a smile. “Really, I’m good. Let’s get going. We only have a couple hours before their engagement party.”
“If you’re sure.” Dallas checks to make sure it’s clear before he pulls back onto the road.
I can fake it for a weekend. I will not break down again, not in front of Dallas and certainly not in front of our peers. I left this town for a reason. I’m a badass PR director who puts hockey players in their place on a regular basis. I can handle a bunch of former classmates.
It only takes a few minutes to get to Dallas’s parents’ house once we’re off the main drag. Technically, there’s enough space for Dallas and me to stay at my moms’ place, but they downsized to a cozy two-bedroom a few years ago. Dallas’s parents still live in the house he grew up in. It’s a spacious two-story, five-bedroom home. I’ve only ever been inside it once, for a house party junior year that Brooklyn forced me to go to. It wasn’t really my scene. Also, she disappeared into one of the bedrooms with some grade-twelve boy half an hour after we arrived, leaving me to fend for myself.