Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Zeph gives me a tight smile and pulls my hand right up against his chest. “I don’t hate you, Tilly. I’m definitely feeling awkward, and I have more than just a bone to pick with my father, but no, I don’t hate you. How could I?”
“You sure?”
Zeph nods. “Don’t get me wrong, just holding your hand makes me want to hurl at the thought of where it’s been.”
“Oh, it’s been places you don’t even want to know about.”
He immediately releases my hand as though it could give him scabies, and when he relaxes back against the couch and lifts his gaze to mine, there’s a strange curiosity there. “It’s really not going anywhere with him?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Honestly, I have no idea, and you’re probably not the right person to even be talking about this with, but he set ground rules right from the get-go. Any form of emotional relationship is strictly off the table, and while I was more than happy to agree to that, I’m not sure it’s something I’m going to be able to follow through with.”
Zeph arches a brow. “You think you could fall for him?”
I shrug my shoulders before considering it again and shaking my head. “No. I don’t know. I’ve never had any kind of feelings for anyone in my life. I’ve wondered if I’ve just been broken all these years. If maybe I’m not capable of it.”
Zeph gives me a sad smile. “You are. You just don’t know how. But my dad, I don’t know if he’s the one you want to try that out with. He’s . . . He’s not an easy man to love. There are things about him that rattle even me to the core, but maybe someone like you is exactly what he needs.”
I just stare at him. “Okay, I think I’ve broken you,” I say. “You good? Maybe a cool shower might help.”
“I’m serious,” Zeph tells me. “If anyone is going to be able to handle his demons, I think it could be you. You’re strong enough, and you don’t run in the face of fear. You stand up to it. The problem is, he’ll never let you close enough to try. He’s determined to spend the rest of his life alone, refusing to let anyone in, and believe me, he has his reasons for that. But if there is anything the least bit real between you, I think it could be good for him.”
I shake my head. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself,” I tell him. “That’s not—”
“I know,” he says. “Despite wanting to wring his neck for taking my girl, I still want him to be happy, and that’s not something he’s ever going to find in that club.”
I fall back against the cushions, both of us settling into a comfortable silence, each of us deep in thought, and after a heavy breath, Zeph reaches out and pulls me into his side, his arm locked tightly around me. “I can’t do anything about it now, but at least I’ll die happy knowing that I saw you first.”
“Uhhhhhh . . . about that.”
Zeph blows out a heavy breath. “Get fucked. He took that from me, too?”
I can’t help but laugh. “The Saturday night before I met you in class. We had a . . . uhhh . . . moment,” I say, unsure how to word it. “I didn’t know his name or anything about him. Just that he noticed me as much as I’d noticed him. And then after we, you know, and you—”
“Hold up a fucking second,” Zeph says, releasing his hold on me only so he can gape at me in horror. “That first time in the college bathroom, you said you had an itch that needed to be scratched.”
I grin at him. “Yeah, your dad was the reason for that particular itch.”
“Fuck me. I scratched my father’s itch.”
With that, Zeph is back on his feet. “Okay, definitely going to be sick this time.”
I hold back a laugh, realizing that in order to preserve the cleanliness of this room and to save myself an evening of scrubbing vomit out of the plush carpet, I’m going to have to change the topic. Despite having so much I want to ask him, I have no idea where the line has been drawn.
“Sit your ass down and tell me why you think you’re in love with Chloe,” I say, patting the vacated space beside me and watching as he reluctantly agrees. He strides back to the couch and falls down next to me. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m confused. You’ve seen her twice for all of three seconds, and both times, you’ve looked like you couldn’t stand each other and then left.”
Zeph cringes before a dopey look dances across his face. “Have you not noticed how fucking beautiful she is?”