Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 43102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Alex
I met Adam and Gabe the old-fashioned way: in a bar. That is, if old-fashioned means that I met a couple of men already in a committed, loving relationship, and they took me home for a night of debauchery and fun, then yeah. That.
It’s just supposed to be one night. I don’t want to be the third wheel or put any kind of a wrench in their love story. These two guys are perfect together. Gabe is the laid-back, easygoing auto mechanic with muscles for freaking days. Adam isn’t lacking in the muscle department either, honestly, but he’s more intense, a little more bruised from a shaky past.
Like me.
I find myself craving their attention all the time. And they don’t seem to want to let me go. What started as one night has turned into something so much … more. I’m a girl who thought she wasn’t lovable, and instead, these two men are proving to me that the three of us could have something really special.
But it’s hard for me to trust, and letting go of the last of my independence may be where I draw the line. Will these men let me walk away, or will they fight for us?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
ALEX
“We’re going out tonight,” my sister, Dani, says through the speaker of my cell phone, which is sitting on my desk next to my brand-new laptop.
I fucking love this new laptop.
“I can’t,” I reply, still tapping the keys. “I’m working, D.”
“You can take a few hours to go out with us,” Dani insists. “Please? I haven’t seen you in forever. I miss you.”
My twin sister knows just which buttons to push with me. Because the truth is, I miss her, too.
“Skyla’s coming,” she continues, “and we’re going to talk Billie into it as well. It’s just drinks at The Wolf Den.”
These are my girls. My people. Skyla’s new to our group, but she fits in with us so well. Skyla’s and Dani’s husbands are Billie’s brothers. It makes me happy that they all found love, and I really do need some girl time with my friends.
I blow out a breath and sit back in my chair. Rubbing my hands down my face, I squint my tired eyes to look at the time.
“When?”
“Around seven? Early enough to get dinner with the drinks. Come on, you know you want some apps and a martini.”
I really do.
I’ve been busting ass at work lately, and I could go for a night out with the girls. It is Saturday, after all. Not that the day of the week means anything when you’re a reporter for a newspaper.
The news doesn’t keep banking hours.
“Okay, fine. I’ll come. I’m the life of the party anyway. You need me.”
Dani’s snort makes me grin. For too long, my sister didn’t laugh.
“Great. I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”
“Love you more.” I hang up and blow out a breath, staring at the article I’m currently writing about the local Humane Society and how little funding they have. They might have to shut down the operation in this part of Montana, which would leave hundreds of animals without a safe place every year.
The irony that I’m writing an article about animals is not lost on me. My editor-in-chief would be horrified if she knew what my childhood entailed, and how lucky she is that I didn’t have to visit the animal rescue to write this article.
Thank God for Zoom and the phone.
This work isn’t urgent. It can wait for tomorrow or even Monday. When was the last time I took a Sunday off?
I couldn’t tell you. I have absolutely no idea. Maybe I’m due.
After closing the laptop, I stand and stretch my hands up to the sky, then wander from the desk by the window of my living room into my small primary suite. I rent a tiny apartment above a garage here in Bitterroot Valley. Newspaper reporters don’t make a ton of money, and in this expensive resort town, this was what I could afford. But it’s clean, and it’s all mine. I feel safe here. I didn’t have to ask my brother to help me with a deposit, and I don’t have to have roommates. This apartment is what I’ve worked so hard for. My independence.
Plus, it’s in the heart of town, so I can get just about anywhere I need to go quickly to be on the scene for a story.
I’ll also be able to walk to The Wolf Den in less than ten minutes.
It’s all about location when you’re in my line of business.
After taking a much-needed shower, during which I shave every square inch of skin that required it, and wash and condition my hair, I get to work putting myself together for a night out.
I don’t plan to go home with anyone, but a girl never knows for sure. You must be prepared for anything.
After curling my long, dark hair, I see that I have a text from my sister.
Dani: We’ve decided to dress up. Wear something on the sexy side.
Now we’re talking.
I love to dress up, so I spend an extra five minutes in my tiny closet trying to decide between a black dress with a high-waisted belt that hugs all my curves and shows off the girls and a pink babydoll dress with spaghetti straps that hits me just above the knee.
Frankly, the thought of sitting in the dress with the belt makes me cringe. I won’t be able to breathe.
Pink dress it is.
Even in my heels, it doesn’t take me long to walk to the pub, and I grin when I see that we’re all arriving at the same time.
“Holy shit, you’re hot as fuck,” I say to Billie, who’s in a red slip dress that is to die for. “You’re all totally fuckable.”
We exchange hugs, and Billie suggests we take a selfie outside, where the light is still good.
“That pink is so pretty on you,” Skyla tells me as she loops her arm through mine and we step inside. “I love it.”
“Thanks, friend.”