Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
“I can’t go to you with all of my problems.”
“That’s exactly what I expect you to do, baby.”
The man was nuts.
But she damn well loved him. So she guessed she was a bit nuts too.
Darn it!
She’d woken up in bed alone again!
How early did Regent get up? Sure, she’d been sleeping in lately. Partly because she was catching up on sleep and partly because she had nowhere to be.
But she was determined today to get out of bed and do something. Yesterday, she’d spent most of the day reading and watching bad TV. She’d even plotted out a book.
She’d always wanted to try writing a book, but life had kept getting in the way. When she’d told Lowell her dream of becoming a writer he’d scoffed and told her that she’d be hopeless at it. That she’d never make it as an author.
He was likely right.
So she hadn’t bothered again. Until today when a storyline had just come to her.
It had felt good to work on her writing. However, she was feeling a bit out of sorts. Uncertain of her place. Of what she was meant to do with her time.
She’d barely seen Regent yesterday.
And part of her was still wondering if he regretted bringing her here.
Well, today was a new day. Actually, what day was it?
Oh, Thursday.
Thankfully, she’d called work to tell them she needed this week off. There was a weird email in her inbox from HR asking to see her at her earliest convenience, but she’d decided to worry about it next week.
Hopping out of bed, she grabbed her robe from the closet, then after washing her face and making sure it was drool-free, she headed downstairs.
Hopefully, she could still catch Regent eating breakfast. She entered the kitchen, but she only saw Gerald there, pouring coffee into a mug.
The older man’s eyes widened. “Ms. Crane? Is everything okay?”
She slumped against the wall, hand on her heart as it raced. “I missed him, huh?”
“Mr. Malone?”
“Yeah? And please call me Jilly. Every time you say my last name, it reminds me of my father. And he wasn’t a nice man.”
“Very well, Miss Jilly.”
She guessed that was slightly better.
“Did I miss Regent? Has he gone already? I wanted to eat breakfast with him.” She was starting to feel like a lazy lump now that she was feeling better.
“He’s in the dining room. You haven’t missed him.”
“In the dining room? For breakfast?” Did no one use the kitchen table in here?
Oh, well.
“I’ll go find him then.”
Gerald gave her a strange look. Almost as though he was amused. “You do that.”
Rushing out of the room, she ran down to the dining room. Sheesh, why was the dining room so far from the kitchen?
It made no sense.
Running in, she unfortunately started to cough.
“Jilly! What’s wrong? Why are you running around?” Regent rushed over and rubbed her back until she caught her breath.
“Sorry,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I, um, might not be up to running yet.”
“You are definitely not up to running yet,” he told her sternly. “Do not do that again.”
She saluted him. Then she heard a soft huff of laughter and froze. Glancing over, she saw a very large, well-built man sitting there. He had short dark hair and a beard.
Victor Malone.
She’d only seen him once, but he was hard to forget.
Great. She was going to meet his brother for the first time after having a coughing fit while dressed in a ratty old robe.
Just perfect.
“Sorry,” she said hoarsely, glancing back at Regent. “I didn’t realize anyone else was here. I would have gotten dressed.”
Regent was already dressed in a button-up shirt and black pants. Victor was less formally dressed in a dark T-shirt that clung to his muscles and jeans.
But she was still way under-dressed.
Sooo. Apparently, people got dressed for breakfast around here. Good to know.
“I’ll just go now . . .” She attempted to move toward the door, but Regent wrapped an arm around her and walked her over to the table.
Once there, he drew out a chair and stared from her to it.
His message was clear.
She sat without looking at either of them. A glass of water appeared in front of her.
“Sip. Slowly,” Regent told her.
Oh no. Was he upset? Embarrassed?
Trying to calm her racing heart, she sipped at her water. Regent continued to rub her back.
She put the glass down. “Um, morning.”
Lame. Really lame.
“Morning,” Victor said.
She snuck another look at him. He appeared stern and serious, but she thought she could see some warmth in his gaze. Maybe.
“I’m Jilly.”
“I know,” he replied. “I remember you. I’m Victor. Regent’s brother.”
“Nice to meet you. Sorry, if I realized someone else was here, I would have gotten dressed. And probably not have run in here like a lunatic.”
“You shouldn’t be running anywhere,” Regent said from where he stood beside her. “Clearly, you’re still not well enough to be out of bed. After breakfast, I’ll take you back up so you can lie down.”