Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 203847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1019(@200wpm)___ 815(@250wpm)___ 679(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 203847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1019(@200wpm)___ 815(@250wpm)___ 679(@300wpm)
He laughs. “Do you want the—”
“If you say wheelchair, I’m slicing off your balls with a butter knife.”
He laughs again and slides his hand around my waist. “Note to self: remove all sharp objects from apartment, lest those pesky hormones inadvertently put me in harm’s way.”
I giggle into my free hand. He grabs it and looks at my nails.
“Maybe we’ll clamp down on these talons too.”
I flick my hand against his chest. “You never complained about them before.”
He pokes my tummy. “Apparently.”
I bat his hand away and step into the elevator. Walking around feels so good after having been confined to the bed for basically twenty-four hours. The wheelchair outing to the ultrasound this morning doesn’t count.
The hospital is crazy. Noise is everywhere, and the amount of people walking through the hallways is almost panic inducing. Despite Ty’s arm firmly around me, it’s hard to get through them—especially with the IV. There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to move, people in front of me, behind me, closing in on me.
“Outside,” I breathe, gripping his shirt.
He steers me off to the side and out the front doors. I take a deep breath and lean against the wall.
“Are you okay?”
“Too many people,” I reply, exhaling slowly.
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?!”
Oh, shit. Hide me.
I look up at my best friend. “Getting some fresh air. Am I allowed?”
She narrows her eyes at Tyler. “You’re supposed to be keeping her under control!”
My dirty British boy snorts. “Yeah, like anyone could control Liv. She’s wild and that’s just how I like it.” He winks at me and kisses the side of my head.
I smile triumphantly. “Did you bring me chips? I want chips.”
Dayton blinks. “I wasn’t asked to bring you chips.”
I huff.
Aaron laughs. “Cravings.”
“You’d be craving food if you hadn’t eaten for days!” I grumble, grabbing Day’s arm. “Get me chips.”
With her at my side, Tyler guides us through the lobby and into the hospital store. I grab a six-pack of salted Lays and shove them at him with a charming smile.
“Please.” I bat my eyelashes at him.
He sighs, but the despondent feel to it is destroyed by the sparkle in his eyes and the twitch to his lips. “What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll stop talking about chips if I’m eating them.”
Dayton laughs as he turns to the register, his sigh real this time.
“Oh, you are one fun pregnant woman,” she snickers.
“I’m growing a person. I get to be fun, and for once, I can blame it on everyone else, because no one argues with a pregnant woman.” I grin.
Tyler hands me one of the bags and I tear it open. I dive my hand into the bag and stuff my mouth full of salted chips.
Oh my god.
So. Good.
The past three weeks of searching for a house have been completely ridiculous.
This isn’t big enough. That isn’t in the right neighborhood. It’s too far from Day’s place. You call that a kitchen? That bathroom tiling is awful. That’s not big enough for a nursery! Are you kidding? We’re supposed to share that as an office? I wouldn’t pee in that tiny room.
And it’s all me. Because when your boyfriend gives you a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a house, it has to be downright perfect.
Perfection or bust.
“How did your appointment go?” I ask without looking up from the laptop.
“It was delightful, same as the last few. But if she asks me to dissect my sexual urges one more time, I’m going to take my handcuffs and attach her to the fucking Space Needle.” Tyler walks into the apartment and dumps his bag.
“But it’s helping, right?”
“Helping me get a bloody hard-on! Do you know how hard it is to explain to these people that my addiction isn’t because my parents abandoned me as a child or didn’t love me enough?” He raises his eyebrows. “I just like sex. A lot. A lot of the time. Why don’t they get that?”
“Because they like to fuck with you.” I smile sweetly. “What did they talk about today?”
His face darkens. “When I slept with my student.”
My curiosity piques. I’ve never actually asked about it—why he did it. No matter how much I wanted to, it never seemed like the right time. Besides, it’s not dinner conversation, is it?
“And?” I ask, trying not to show my interest.
I fail, because he smirks and joins me at the table. “Liv, if you want to know, just ask me. It’s fresh in my mind, funnily enough.”
“Uhh. Okay. Why did you do it?” I look at him now.
“Honestly, it was a mistake. I’d met her sister a couple of times, and there was only a couple of years between them. They looked very alike. I arranged to meet her sister for a few drinks one night, but it was actually my student who turned up. I didn’t realize at the time.” He rubs his hand through his hair. “It’s the worst excuse, I know, but it’s the truth. I didn’t know until she admitted it to me the next morning.”