Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Your answer means nothing.” Britta turns, and her heels click along the floor. “Oh, look. Here’s sweet Jeremiah. He looks a bit haunted. I wonder how he will deal with the whole world knowing his secret.”
She walks past Jeremiah, who is wearing last night’s clothes and looks stark white.
“What did she want? We can sell the penthouse. At least my part.” Jeremiah seems to be deep into the bargaining state, and I wonder how long he’s been there. Years, it seems.
“Jer, I love you. I can’t. I can’t marry her. I love Harper,” Reid says, his voice shaking. “I’m so sorry.”
Jeremiah stops, and his shoulders relax. “You love Harper? You really love her?”
Reid nods. “Yeah. Though now that she sees how bad my baggage is I don’t know that she’ll think I’m a good bet.”
He loves me? It’s stupid how those words wash away all the anxiety of the last few minutes. We can get through this if he loves me. I might be able to get through anything if he loves me. “Yeah, I’m bad at gambling, so you’re good. I mean it, babe. I can walk by a slot machine and it never pays off again. Did I mention sarcasm is also how I handle strong emotion since I love you, too.”
Jeremiah tears up. “I’m so happy to hear that. I can’t tell you. I’m happy for you.”
He hugs his brother and then me. I hold him close. “How was your meeting?”
He backs up and gives me a weary smile. “Well, I spent most of the night in a coffee shop with my sponsor talking about how to keep my sobriety.”
“Jer,” Reid begins.
Jeremiah waves him off. “She figured it out. Besides, she’s probably going to be my sister-in-law. Let me think for a couple of hours.”
Reid nods. “Of course.”
“Or we can sic Ivy and Heath on her and figure out what she’s trying to cover up.” It is obvious to me that the Dorsey brothers aren’t big on conspiracy theories. Lucky for them I’m pretty good at them. “Think about it. She doesn’t love you. She’s not really pregnant. She said it herself. She needs to change the narrative.”
“She said I could change the narrative,” Reid points out.
“No. I think Harper’s right.” Jeremiah paces while he considers the situation. “She normally wants money or she wants you to short term look like you’re back together. She doesn’t have feelings for you beyond using you. So why would she be willing to tie herself to this family?”
“She’s jealous of Harper,” Reid offers.
He is a beautiful man, but I don’t see it. “She’s the one who needs to cover something, and the tape gave her the idea she needed. The fact that she lost it and is still pushing means she’s desperate. If she’s desperate, then we can use it against her. We need to figure out what she’s hiding, and Ivy is our best bet. She knows people who can get pretty much anywhere on the web. I would like to do a deep dive into Britta’s life for the last six months. If we can get leverage to make her drop whatever hold she has on you…”
Jeremiah’s jaw squares. “You should know…”
I hold a hand up. “Nope. Don’t need to know. I need to figure a way out of this situation so she doesn’t come back to annoy me every few months. We can do it this way or I hand it all over to CeCe and we have to interview and vet assassins. She’s got a whole plan. But I need you to understand that I don’t have to know what you did in order to help you.”
“That is naïve,” he says with a sigh.
“Did you brutally murder someone in cold blood?” I ask.
“No. No one died,” he shoots back and then frowns. “Would it be okay if the murder wasn’t brutal?”
I shrug. “Look, there are times when I think death is justified. So if you didn’t kill anyone, did you ruin someone’s life without care or thought?”
He looks almost apologetic. “No, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a bad thing.”
“Swindle old ladies out of their retirement? Not pay your contractor? That could be a deal breaker.” I gasp because I do realize something that could give me pause. “Did you kick a dog?”
Jeremiah steps in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders. There’s a serious expression on his face as he looks down at me. “I need you to know that you are the absolute best thing that ever happened to this family, and I will be so grateful to call you sister.”
“Don’t push her,” Reid warns. “She needs time, but I agree that she’s the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Jeremiah draws me in and hugs me. I take a deep breath and realize I have what I need. I have my sisters and three incredible “moms” who care about me and are willing to make lasagna/talk through a plan/hire an assassin when I’m down. If I play my cards right, I might get the coolest brother out of this. Tears pierce my eyes, and so many of the hurtful, harmful things I heard growing up seem to drift away.