Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“That’s because I am.” He plates up our eggs and comes to stand next to me. His index finger dips under my chin, and he raises my eyes to his. “Morning, girlfriend.” He grins before pressing his lips to mine.
“You better check your bacon,” I mumble against his lips. Nobody likes burnt bacon, and honestly, having his full attention like this, it’s new to me, and I’m a little overwhelmed but in a good way. I know in time, it’s something I’ll get used to. It’s already something I’m starting to crave where Landry is concerned.
“Later,” he tells me before pulling away and going back to the bacon.
“How did Corie find out?”
“I texted Knox and the guys last night. I told Knox to let me tell Corie, but he’s a sucker where my sister is concerned.”
“You told the guys? Told them what?”
He nods to his phone on the counter. “You can read for yourself.”
“What? You want me to read your messages? On your phone?” There’s no hiding the disbelief in my tone.
“Yeah, if you want to know what I told them.” He rattles off his passcode, and I sit here frozen. “Roe, I have nothing to hide from you. If you need my phone, it’s there, and you know the code. Anytime you need to go through it to make yourself understand that you’re it for me, you can do it. I won’t be mad or upset.”
“Are you real?” I ask him. This man is opening his heart and his entire life to me without reservation. It’s staggering in the best way.
He chuckles. “I know how he treated you. I know he cheated on you, and I want to give you back everything he took and then some. I want to give you the world. I want to give you me, and if having access to my phone helps you see that we’re the real deal, you have it.” He adds bacon to our plates, grabs toast out of the toaster, slathers butter on it, and pushes my plate toward me. “Coffee, milk, water, something else? I’m out of orange juice.”
“Water is fine,” I tell him. My head is spinning as I process what he’s giving me without a second thought. It means more to me than he will ever know.
He grabs a glass of water and a glass of milk before sitting next to me. With his long arms, he reaches across the island and drags his plate forward. Before he picks up his fork, he grabs his phone and hands it to me, rattling off his passcode for a second time. When I make no move to take it, he unlocks the phone and pulls up his messages before handing it to me.
They say curiosity killed the cat, and I want to know what he said, so I allow myself to scan through his message with the guys from last night. I choke on a sob when I get to the part where he says he might be falling in love with me. Then he says he’s pretty sure he is, and it feels as though my heart might tumble right out of my chest and into his.
“Landry,” I breathe his name with reverence.
“What? It’s not bad, right?” He takes the phone from me and skims the messages. His face goes pale. “Yeah, forgot about that part,” he says, placing his phone back on the counter and turning to face me. “Please don’t freak out. Don’t run.”
I can’t help it. I laugh. My entire body shakes with my laughter. He looks confused, his brow scrunched as he watches me. “You think I’m going to run? From a man who has shown me what it’s like to be wanted. Not my body, but me. From a man who has shown me what it feels like to be valued? I’m not running, Landry.”
He exhales loudly. “Good.”
“It’s scary, though, right? To feel this strongly so soon?”
He shrugs. “A little, I guess, but not really. I’ve always been one to follow my gut. It’s something my dad used to say to me after football practice. I’d be beating myself up over a play, and he would tell me that I had good instincts and to always follow my gut, and I’d do the best that I could do.” He pauses as if he’s stuck in his head in that moment with his father. “That’s what it feels like with you. My gut tells me that we're meant to be together. You were supposed to come back to Tennessee. You were supposed to work for the Rampage. Your pain and your past led you here, and it’s exactly where you’re supposed to be. With me.”
A rush of emotion that feels a lot like love washes over me. “Please don’t break my heart,” I say, fighting back tears.