Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
"I need to talk to your dads and Uncle Trevor," I mumble, wishing like hell I'd talked to them before I came to meet Constance. We wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't been so damn impatient to get to her, to get inside of her. But she asked me to meet her behind the winery, and that's what I was thinking about. Getting inside her is all I'm ever thinking about anymore. I figured I could make love to her and then iron out the rest of the details while she was in LA with her brother.
Clearly not because she drove away with tears rolling down her cheeks, and I'm not sure if she intends to come back.
Jax yanks his phone out of his pocket, stabbing the screen with enough force to let me know he's furious right now. I'm guessing everyone else will be too when they find out that she's gone. I'm not the only one who loves her, and I'm not the only one who needs her around here. Everyone has fallen head over heels for her. It's fucking impossible not to love her.
She's so full of life and passionate. She doesn't ever take any shit from anyone, and she meets everyone exactly where they are. That's rare here, real damn rare.
People always want shit from us. They always expect shit from us. Not Constance. She just accepts each of us for who we are. It doesn't matter if I'm an asshole or if Jax is an idiot or if we argue all fucking day long. She just goes with it, never asking us to be anything different or change a goddamn thing.
The phone rings twice before Uncle Eli's voice rumbles down the line. "What do you need, son? I'm trying to get your mom naked."
"Stop telling our children that, Eli Goodson!" Aunt Audrey shouts in the background.
"Jesus Christ," Jax mutters, grimacing down at the phone in his hands. "I agree with her. Stop telling me that shit."
Uncle Eli just laughs in response. "You called me. If you don't want the truth, stop interrupting my plans. What do you want?"
Jax cuts his eyes at me, his expression severe. "I've got Bastian here. He needs to talk to you. It's urgent."
"I already heard," Uncle Eli says. "Miriam called Nathan, who called me. And Audrey and I already talked about it. He has our blessing, but if he doesn't put a ring on her finger, he's getting a boot up his ass."
"He can hear you," Jax says.
"Good. If you don't put a ring on her finger, I'm putting a boot up your ass," Uncle Eli repeats to me.
"That's the plan."
"Smart man." Uncle Eli pauses. "I already talked to Nate. He has no objections."
"Then that just leaves Uncle Trevor."
"He won't object either," Uncle Eli says. "Lucy adores Constance, and Trevor and Gracie love Lucy. If giving her your share of the winery means Lucy is happy, they're happy."
"Good, then there's nothing stopping you from fixing this," Haven says, scowling at me.
"Fixing it? What'd you do?"
"He asked me to list her position before he even talked to her. Now, she's on her way to LA, and he doesn't know if she's coming back."
I scowl at Haven. Why the fuck does everyone in my family have to meddle.
"What the fuck?" Uncle Eli growls. "Have you lost your goddamn mind, son?"
"Clearly," Haven sniffs.
"I fucked up," I mutter, hauling myself to my feet. I don't need them to beat me over the head with that fact. I'm already doing enough of that myself. And truthfully, it isn't fucking helping. Because the worst goddamn thing I can think of is her not coming back…and right now, that's all I can think about.
She has to come back. Christ, she has to.
My house feels dead without her. There are little pieces of her scattered all over the place—her shoes in the foyer, her book on the coffee table, her girly shit all over the bathroom. But seeing it all burns like a motherfucker.
I don't know what to do with myself when she won't answer my calls. They go straight to voicemail. So I stroll out onto the porch, trying to escape her smell. It doesn't really help.
I need to know she's okay. I need her to talk to me.
Hell, I need to know she's coming back.
I don't want to be here while she's in LA, probably crying over me. I want to be wherever she is. Since the day she started, I've wanted to be where she is. My skin crawls when I'm not near her.
She thinks I'm a controlling asshole, and maybe I am. But the truth is…I never had any with her. I've been losing control since the first damn time she smiled at me. And I've wanted her just as off-balanced and out of sorts. I've wanted her just as feral and desperate. I never wanted to control her. I just wanted to be the one thing she couldn't live without.